To Hell and Back
by SunSetSoItSeems
Summary: When Katara finds herself in Hell without doing anything wrong, she must be guided around by one of Hell's residents, Zuko, until she can be let into Heaven. But why is Zuko in Hell? Uh, I'm writing this again!
1. Chapter 1

SunSetSoItSeems: Hello! This is my first fic, so don't be too harsh. Also, keep in mind that this is an Alternate Universe fic, so there's the same characters and personalities, just not the same universe. This is set in modern day/um… Hell/Heaven. It is a mystery and romance fic, so those who do not approve, well, leave. (all is in jest!)

Rating: T for future language and, well, it _is_ Hell after all!

And now, for the story!

Wait! DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar. If I did, … I'm not in the witty mood today, I guess. Next chapter… you can expect some wit.

Chapter One

_Katara__ grabbed __Aang's__ hand as they walked down the sidewalk. It was a seemingly perfect day: no clouds, the sun was shining, and even the sky was a perfect blue. Birds were chirping loudly, creating a sort of serene feeling in the air. The day was a perfect one, and also __Aang's__ birthday. He and __Katara__ had been best friends since last year. Little did __Katara__ know, she was also the object of __Aang's__affection.__ She also did not know what he was planning for today._

_Today, __Aang__ was going to ask her out._

_It was perfect, really. She would give him a birthday hug, and then he would spit out his feelings in a very manly way. Yes, __It__ was all going to plan. __Aang__ had just taken __Katara__ out to __lunch,__ and he was sure that she was in the mood for some hugging. _

_"What a lovely day!" __Katara__ exclaimed, though with one glance at her watch, her good feelings were lost. __"Oh, no!__ Dad is expecting me home at 3:00! I have to get going!"_

_Aang__ inwardly smacked himself. This was not supposed to happen! He hadn't even been hugged yet!_

_"Um, I'll walk you home. You know. __If you want.__ I can understand it I you don't like- like walking home with me. __Yeah."__Aang__ muttered, feeling all of his manly pride drip out of his mouth._

_Katara__ smiled. "I can go home by myself. __Happy birthday!"_

_Katara__ walked across the street, putting __one foot__ in front of the other, keeping a steady pace._

_"Wait! Will you go out with me __tomorrow!__" __Aang__ couldn't help but let this slip out._

_Katara__ froze. Her feet stopped pacing one in front of the other. __Aang__ gulped. Would she say yes?_

_A loud screech filled the air as both of the friends whipped their heads around. A red car was steadily advancing towards them, and __Katara__ felt herself freeze again. __Aang__ leaped forward, but it all happened so fast. __Katara__ felt a large object smash against her body, and then nothing.__ She fell asleep to the sounds of screams to call the paramedics. Then, she felt no more._

_--------------------------_

Katara felt no pain as she woke up. In fact, she heard nothing either. All she could do was close her eyes wishing to be back with Aang in safety. Though somehow, she felt oddly at peace. Alost like nothing could harm her. So she opened her eyes.

"Hey. My name is Haru!"

Katara turned around to look for the sound of the voice, and found herself gaping at the scenery. She was in a pure white room, with no sign of impurity. Everything was crafted with beauty, and she even found herself dressed in all white. There were a few benches in the room, and one was occupied by herself, while the other was hosting the stranger.

"Where am I?"

The boy smiled. He was a medium height, and looked to be around her age, if not a little older. He had long locks of cascading brown hair, and slightly feminine features. He seemed to have been an angel, dressed up in all white. She herself, however, was also wearing white, and she knew that she was no angel. Who could this boy be?

"You're in the judgement waiting room, of course!"

This statement, however, made Katara even more confused, and it showed clearly. The boy, Haru, laughed.

"The boy before me, Theo, told me. He said that it was the room where we wait to see if we go to Heaven or-" the boy paused. " think you know where I mean."

Katara smiled. Even if this boy completely lacked any manly features, at least he was kind.

"So that means… I'm dead?" She felt her body twitch at the notion, and she suddenly felt a strange feeling take over. Wasn't she supposed to feel upset?

"It happened to me, too. You can't feel sad here. It's a… good feeling. You'll get used to it."

There was a long silence.

"So…" Haru started. "How did you die?"

Katara couldn't help it. An enormous fit of giggles took over Katara's body.

"How can you say that as if it's the most common thing ever?"

Haru shrugged. "Just curious. So… how did it happen?"

Katara giggled again. "I got hit by a car. I didn't see who the driver was, but they were going over the speed limit. Definitely!"

Haru laughed. "Silly thing to think about now, I guess. When we're both dead. I died in a landslide. I guess I'm not so great with the rocks."

Katara felt a sudden urge to add that he looked like he was good with a makeup kit, but decided against it.

Haru suddenly got up. "It's our turn to go to Him. Hopefully we'll both see each other in heaven!"

Katara waved goodbye to him, watching him skip off. She turned the corner, and walked straight into the judgement room.

-------------------------------

Katara stood in shock. The room was _huge_! Large pillars held up the beautifully painted ceiling. There was a large book in the center of the room, and a few people surrounding it.

"Hello, Katara. I'm sorry to have to say this…"

Katara froze up. Had she done something wrong in her lifetime? Was she going to go to Hell?

"You have no place in Heaven. You have done nothing wrong in your life, but somehow… we just can't get you in. He says that there was no reason, and He is always right. You'll be able to get into Heaven in about a month. For now, though.."

Katara felt her heart drop. She was going to Hell for a month. All alone in the underworld, with so many murderers and fiends!

"Don't worry! You won't be alone. We have a guide from Hell that will never leave your side for the entire month."

At this, Katara felt a little better. But there was one loose end…

"He will be from Hell. He has only been there for about a year, so he still remembers the Earth. He is also only a year older than you. I'm sure that you will get along fine."

Katara knew it. She was probably going to be dragged around Hell by a serial killer!

"Here he is! Let me introduce you to your guide in Hell."

A boy, around he age of sixteen, walked in with his head down. He had a dark red outfit on, and messy black hair. The first thing she noticed about him was a large scar across the side of his face. The second was his piercing amber eyes. He looked up to her and smiled a sad, solemn grin.

The woman that was speaking earlier smiled also. "This is Zuko, your guide in Hell. Zuko, this is Katara. Do you have anything that you would like to say to her?"

Zuko looked up with a blank expression plastered on his face.

"Welcome to Hell."

---

END CAPTER ONE!!! Please read and review! (Well, duh on the read part.)

Reviewers get a mini zuko plushie!

SunSetSoItSeems


	2. Chapter 2

SuNsEtSoItSeEmS: THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS AND FAVS!!! I was so happy that you people enjoyed my story! I got so tired of the cliché plotlines that I had to write this story. I hope all of you enjoy this chapter!

Rating: T for language and… Hellness…

Genre: Mystery/Romance/a dash of humor (maybe…)

Chapter Two

The walk down to Hell was quiet. Apparently Zuko did not have the gift of gab, and Katara was choosing not to use hers. Katara was also not sure where they were going. The obvious destination was Hell, but Zuko seemed to be heading in a particular direction.

All Katara could see was _RED_. It seemed as though the great artist of this landscape just drew a straight line, and colored it the dreadful color. The vast area of land was also almost completely flat: no mountains, no hills, no color, no flowers…

The path took a sudden turn, and Katara's thoughts changed. In front of her was a mountain range! An actual change in altitude! Intrigued again, Katara decided to finally break the awful silence.

"Where are we going?"

Zuko seemed surprised by the question. "Obviously to see the rules! There are certain things that you need to know before you start to live here. Even if it is only for a month."

Katara nodded. The boy seemed nice enough. Maybe this month wouldn't be so bad!

"I never was formally introduced. My name is Katara!" Katara waited patiently for a response.

"Well? Aren't you going to tell me your name?"

"You already know my name." Zuko replied, not letting an ounce of emotion slip into his voice. : I see no reason for having to tell you again, resident Angel."

Katara bit her tongue. Maybe she judged too quickly. Zuko seemed to be making a point that he did not want to converse with her.

"Well," Katara responded. "Politeness would be a reason enough for me."

"We're in Hell. There's no need to be polite. Now stop talking and start picking up the pace."

Katara fumed and stomped her foot. "You're my guide! If I'm going to stay with you for a month, you could at least try to be nice!"

Her only response was a small snort of ignorance, and a faster change of pace.

"AGH!!" Katara yelled out to the mountains. This boy was absolutely impossible!

When they finally reached the mountains, Katara felt angrier than ever. This boy, Zuko she reminded herself, was getting on her nerves! He was impolite, ill-mannered, indecent, and disagreeable! Even though she had only known him for about half an hour, she could tell: this was going to be a long month.

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"The rules are just ahead. They're at Sisyphus Mountain. We should be there any minute now."Zuko commented.

Katara winced. Sisyphus was the cursed king in Greek mythology that was punished by eternally pushing a boulder up a mountain. Every time he almost reached the top, the boulder would roll back down.

"Here we are."

Katara looked up. The mountain was taller than her eyes could see. Its peak was lost in the clouds, and its majesty astounded her. It was a deep purple, and gave her eyes a break from all of the red that surrounds it.

"The rules are just this way."

Katara followed Zuko, and found herself in a large _red_ room. There were inscriptions of all kinds on the walls, in more than twenty languages. All around her, she spotted rules!

"The English ones are here." Zuko pointed to a different spot on the wall and smirked. "Can I assume that you can read these words? Or should I read them to you?"

Katara felt an urge to smack the smirk off of his face, but reminded herself that she was going to Heaven soon. It was better to keep them happy than to end up like Zuko. Why was he in Hell anyways?

"Are you going to read them?" Zuko asked impatiently.

Katara nodded, flushing lightly, and walked up to the wall.

_The Rules of Hell_

_You can feel __pain, sadness, and suffering in Hell._

_If you have killed any human being (with some exceptions such as force), you will go to Hell._

_You age in Hell._

_Wounds take longer to heal in Hell._

_Any wound or act that you can receive on Earth, can be received in Hell._

_Death is not possible in Hell, due to your death already occurring, but if a person receives a fatal wound, they will be 'repaired', and sent to a different area in Hell._

_You can marry in Hell, but you cannot have children._

_If someone from Earth chooses to contact you, you can only talk with them for a certain amount of time._

_There are seasons in Hell, though they are not always in order._

_Those who are in Hell, stay in Hell. Forever._

Zuko seemed to be staring at the last rule with a strange emotion written on his face, but Katara couldn't place what it was.

"It's not fair."

Zuko's voice broke the silence. Katara was not sure what he had meant by that, but he sounded forlorn.

"All I had done was to get out of my own Hell. Now I'm here, and it's almost worse. I made one tiny mistake, and they send me down here!"

Katara was sure that he wasn't talking to her, but just to himself.

"One tiny mistake! Now I'm here."

The last part was so quiet, that Katara had to strain her eyes to hear it.

He started to leave, and Katara could only feel pity for the boy.

"What? The angel can't walk? You're lucky that you're going to get wings, then."

All of Katara's pity from earlier was turned to dust.

"I can walk very well, if I do say so myself! It's you that I worry about!" Katara yelled, running after Zuko.

When she caught up, she noticed that he was, again, smirking.

"I hate you." She seethed.

"You hardly know me. Just wait until we're together for a month!" He smirked again, obviously enjoying his little fun.

"So why are you in Hell anyways?" Katara asked, taking advantage of his good mood. "What was this 'one mistake' that you had made?"

Zuko's face became dark, and Katara quickly regretted her question.

"I murdered somebody."

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DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUN!!!

QUICKIE POLL!!!

Should I add:

Jet

Iroh

Cabbage man

Which One Next Chapter???


	3. Chapter 3

SunSetSoItSeems: 20 reviews? You guys rock! I'm glad that so many people enjoy my story!! I just got a beta, so it might take longer to update, but it will pay off. (Though my beta is currently reading a story about a girl who has a knife…) The overall most popular character from my poll was Jet, and the cabbage man was a close second. They will both be featured in my story soon! I hope that you all enjoy this chapter! OH, and please don't kill me for cliffies! You actually might want to get used to it. This is a mystery story!

Rating: T for language and… Hellness…

(I forgot this last chapter!) DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar! If I did… I… would… be… rich?

GOD I'M NOT WITTY!

(cries) Enjoy the chapter…

Chapter Three

Aang was strangely… excited today. It had been only a day since Katara's death and Aang was still trying to accept it. Someday he would see her again, he told himself. Then they would be together forever. Besides, Aang had other plans for today.

It was a short walk to the hospital and Aang was hardly tired when he reached the front doors. He walked right up to the receptionist's desk with a question in mind. He never got a chance to ask it.

"Are you…" The receptionist paused and glanced at her paper. "Aang?"

Aang nodded.

"I'm sure that you'll find him on the second floor, room 237."

Aang nodded again, and headed towards the stairway.

As he reached the landing of the second floor, Aang was startled by a sudden shout.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'LL BE BLIND?!? DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS MEANS?!?"

The voice was clearly feminine, and held an edgy tone in it. An elderly, calming man's voice spoke next.

"You'll be alright. I just called your parents. They'll be over tomorrow. Right now they're in-"

"I don't care where they are! They should be here already!"

Aang realized that the room he was eavesdropping in was, indeed, room 237. He opened the door cautiously, and took a step inside.

"Who-"

Aang was greeted by a strange sight. A girl was sitting on one of the hospital beds with a dark black bun. Her eyes were a pale green and clearly sightless. _That must've been what she was yelling about earlier!_ Aang thought.

"Hello!" Aang noticed the elderly man now. He was a round man with graying hair and a large smile on his face.

"I believe that we have not been introduced. My name is Iroh. This is my blind friend-"

"Toph," The blind girls spoke. "My name is Toph."

"Nice to meet you both," Aang commented. "But I'm looking for someone else here."

Iroh gave Aang an understanding look. "He's behind the curtain over on the left wall. The one who killed the-"

Aang nodded quickly and rushed to the curtain and pulled it away.

The man was in his forties, probably a father, and Aang could tell that he was very tall.

"Ozai." Aang whispered. "The name of the man who killed my best friend."

Iroh gave Aang a pitiful glance. "That man is my brother. I came to visit him and well, I guess that's how I met Toph!"

Toph rolled her eyes. "You know, if you didn't make such good tea I would have you out of here."

Aang giggled quietly. He let his gaze wander back to the man in the other hospital bed.

"What's wrong with him?" Aang wondered out loud.

Iroh grimaced. "He's in a coma. When the car hit your friend he did not have a seatbelt on. He was given several possibly fatal wounds."

Aang nodded. "I see. When will he recover? I want to talk to him about Katara. Do you think that he did this on purpose?"

Iroh pondered this statement. "You never know. My brother has done some awful things in the past. I could only hope that he wouldn't add murder to his list."

"I just wish that I could see Katara again."

Iroh smiled sadly. "There are obvious ways, but those are all murder. You couldn't possibly consider that! But… there's also another way."

Aang's head snapped up to face the older man.

"Another… way?"

Iroh smiled. "If you would like to know how-"

Aang nodded furiously.

Iroh laughed. "I see that you are anxious. If you come to this address at 4:00, I'll help you talk to your friend."

Aang nodded again. It was a little awkward and weird to be going to a stranger's house, but Iroh seemed nice enough. Aang walked out of the hospital room keeping pace to the steady beat of Ozai's heart monitor, and waved goodbye to Toph and Iroh.

------------------

Katara, needless to say, was nervous around Zuko the whole day. She was trying to find some way to figure out who he had killed, but he wouldn't open up anymore. Now her hunger was distracting her train of thought, and she decided to _finally_ break the silence with Zuko.

"Do we eat in Hell? Or do we starve?"

Zuko laughed coldly. "You starve."

Katara's jaw dropped. "Are you freaking kidding me?"

Zuko laughed again. "Yes."

Katara blushed. "I just wasn't aware that you had a sense of humor."

"I do. It just isn't fully developed."

Katar laughed, but remembered that he was a murderer, and quickly shut up. Zuko noticed this and sighed.

"You know, most people think they deserved it. If that helps any."

Katara felt her blood boil. "Does that help any? NO! What exactly compelled you to end someone's life? How do you know that they deserved it?"

Zuko looked down. "I don't feel compelled to talk about this. But if you need reassurance, he's down here. Doesn't that matter? Maybe he didn't deserve it, but he's down here."

"So it's a guy." Katara smirked. At least she had figured out something about this guy. Now she knew that it was a man that was down here with her. In Hell.

"I'm not telling you anything else. Let's go get food."

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END OF CHAPTER THREE!!

Thanks again for all of your reviews!!! Jet will come in next chapter. So will the cabbage man. Since no one voted for Iroh, he's in the real world! And friends with Toph!

SPOILER ALERT FOR DAY OF BLACK SUN

Okay. Who else can't help laughing whenever they see Haru's mustache?

(Raises hand)

Oh, I probably should have put this in the first chapter. USER AND ABUSER OF THE REVIEW REPLY BUTTON!!!

Sunset's beta: hey everyone! Your probably wondering how I got the job of being sunset's beta and I guarantee it isn't just because im her sister… actually it is. Im not that great at grammar and stuff but I did take about 450 commas out that didn't need to be in there… Review her story its totally killer! (and she like jumps around the room when she gets a review)


	4. Chapter 4

SunSetSoItSeems: Wow! Over 500 hits! You guys rock! I got a lot of people's predictions for this chapter, and I am proud to say that 'I can't tell any of you if you're right!' That would ruin the surprise. My beta might have added this, but I suck at commas. I add sooooooooo many more than necessary! So if you guys see any commas that shouldn't be there: IGNORE THEM. Oh! If you ever need a break from seriousness, read my cousin's fics. They make me laugh every time I read them. Check her out for some crack (not literally): Crackerrrrr x Natashaa.

Rating T: for Haru's alarming facial hair and lack of manly features. Oh. And Hellness.

DISCLAIMER: My beta told me to put this in because I lack wit: "I don't own Avatar, but I wish owned Zuko tied to a chair! Muahahaha!" It sounded more stalkerish than witty… so I made sure to mention that it wasn't my idea. (My beta will probably delete this!) (IT TOTALLY WASN'T MY IDEA! THAT FIEND... anyways, I did my best so enjoy the chapter! LOVE, her beta/sister)

Chapter Four

Aang glanced at his watch as he walked down the street. It was a quarter to four, and Aang was making sure that he was there _exactly_ on time. This man Iroh was giving Aang a once-in-a-lifetime-and-possibly-death-time opportunity! Being late was not an option.

"WAIT!"

A voice coming from behind Aang caught his attention. The same girl with the balck bun was running after him. _Should she be out alone?!?_Aang thought, worriedly.

"Uh, should you be walking without a dog or something and shouldn't you be with someone?" Aang stumbled with his words. "I don't think it's very safe for-"

The girl snorted. "Are you going to do that to me too? That's exactly what my parents say. It gets on my nerves. Plus, I'm Toph Bei Fong! Nothing is too difficult for me!"

Aang smiled. At least this girl had a positive attitude!

"Are you going to Iroh's too?" Aang questioned. Toph nodded.

"He promised me that he would brew me some of his famous tea. Supposedly it's the best in the world!" Toph giggled. "Plus this supernatural stuff sounds awesome! If you're really going to contact some dead girlfriend of yours, I'll be there!"

Aang blushed. "She wasn't exactly my girlfriend, we were best friends. That's all!"

Toph smirked. "I can tell that you're lying."

Aang looked up quickly. "You can what?!? HOW?"

Toph laughed at his eagerness. "I'm not sure. I can also 'see' fine. That's why I get angry when people consider me to be helpless. I can do things no one else can!"

Aang grinned. "I don't know how you do it, but I can also do some pretty neat things!"

Toph rolled her eyes. "Like what? Play with marbles?"

"I don't play with marbles!" Aang shouted defensively. "It's much more mature than that!"

"Oh, really now?"

Aang beamed. "I can hang over ten spoons on my face at once!"

Toph laughed. "Now I have _got_ to see that!"

The two new friends walked side-by-side to Iroh's house, chatting the whole way.

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Katara walked a few paces behind Zuko the entire walk to the market. Apparently there was a sort of food buffet in Hell and one could bargain for the goods. When they reached this said area, Katara was entirely exhausted.

"There are plenty of merchants' shops up ahead." Zuko commented. "All of these guys are sent to Hell for a reason though. Be careful."

A few of these shop owners gave suspicious glances at Katara and she felt herself shudder. Looking over her shoulder she found a few promising stands.

Katara felt herself stumble into a cart.

"Watch where you're going!" called an elderly man, clearly the owner of the cart. "These apples are very precious to me. You're lucky that you didn't knock this cart over or I would've-"

Zuko quickly pulled Katara away from the old man. Katara scoffed. "Why is he in Hell?"

Zuko smirked. "Not all of his comments about apples are-"

"Watch where you're going you son of a bitch!"

Zuko winced. "-child friendly."

Katara decided that it was wise to stay as far away from the man as possible. Quickly, she managed to push through the crowd and find another cart.

Katara wasn't the only one who had found refuge at this certain cart. Another boy around Zuko's age was there chewing on a long piece of grass. Although Katara wondered where he had managed to find that piece of grass, she was also wondering why he was staring so intently behind her.

Without a second to blink the boy was off in a flash kicking up dirt behind him. He promptly raised his fist and-

_S M A C K_

A resounding echo filled Katara's ears as the sound of flesh meeting flesh filled the air. It seemed as though as soon as Katara had blinked, Zuko had moved three yards and fell to the ground.

"Jet! I haven't seen you here in-"

_S M A C K!_

Another blow met Zuko's cheek as Jet's fist was raised again. Before Katara could say a word the boy, now Jet, laughed soundly.

"Zuko, you know you deserve five times the pain that I caused you just then. Don't think that I will leave you alone anytime soon. I'm watching you."

Jet walked away without another word. Zuko stood up shaking and wandered back to Katara.

"Who was that?" Katara felt her voice come back.

"Jet." Zuko responded and turned around. "Let's go."

Katara picked up a basket of bread and followed her guide. "Where are we going?"

Zuko glanced back at Katara. "To my home! Where else?"

Katara glared at his back but did not respond. It was better to let this go. The two 'companions' walked back into the mountain range but were interrupted by a scream of pure agonizing pain.

"MY CABBAGES!!!"

Katara looked up startled, but Zuko just snickered. "What?" she asked. "Who was that?"

Zuko grinned. "The cabbage man! He's been in Hell since the days of the Avatar! Apparently his eternal punishment is to roll his cabbage cart all the way up a mountain just like Sisyphus. Then when he reaches the top-"

"-It rolls back down." Katara finished.

Zuko nodded. "That's it exactly!"

"How awful!" Katara muttered. Zuko only laughed in return.

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It was 4:00, and Aang and Toph had just arrived at Iroh's house. The elderly man had, of course, three cups of tea ready for them when they arrived.

"So…" Aang began. "How will I be able to contact Katara?"

Iroh smiled. "So eager to begin young child. We will start."

Aang got up and smiled.

"As soon as I finish my tea." Iroh finished. Aang sighed and sat back down.

Toph and Iroh talked together, but all Aang could think about was Katara. Was she alright? Did she go to Heaven?

"It's all right twinkle-toes." Toph said. "I'm sure your girlfriend can wait five minutes to chat."

Aang blushed again. "Twinkle-toes?"

Toph laughed. "You're always so eager to get going. Sit down and drink your tea. I'm sure this girl will be fine waiting."

Aang agreed, and sat down. He would wait. But as soon as the five minutes were up…

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END CHAPTER FOUR!!!

THANKS FOR EVERYONE THAT HAS REVIEWED! Here's a shout out:

"Baby, you're my forever girl!"

OOH! Cookies for whoever knows who said that.

AND shout out to my first chapter four reviewer!

SuNsEtSoItSeEmS


	5. Chapter 5

SunSetSoItSeems: First of all… four chapters and 46 reviews? You guys are amazing! And 970 hits? SWEET! OH! Here was what I promised:

SHOUT OUT!!! THANKS TO 'Dee Lee'! You were the FIRST reviewer for my fourth chapter! And your reviews always make me laugh.

I also made a POLL! It's on my profile page! It's just for fun, of course. Thanks to all that don't mind my crazy update times. And typing times.

Rated T: for the cabbage man's language… and Haru's facial hair… and language in general. Oh! And Hellness!

Time to start:

Chapter Five

Aang glanced at the clock. It had been well over five minutes, and he was getting rather impatient. He knew that he would seem incredibly rude if he interrupted Toph and Iroh, but it seemed like the only option. Luckily, he didn't have to.

"Are you ready Aang? I believe that it has been five minutes."

Aang nodded. "I was ready for this a while ago."

"So eager." Iroh laughed.

"That's twinkle-toes for you." Toph muttered. "Always on the go."

Aang sat waiting for instructions. "Are we going to do this here or…"

"At the hospital would probably be best. That way we can channel the spirit. She, err, passed away in that hospital, am I correct?"

Aang looked down. "I'm not sure. They wouldn't let me ride in the ambulance with her. I was a 'disturbance to her medical state', apparently."

Toph nodded. "When my friend was in the hospital they called me something similar. I think that I was more of a 'Loud, obnoxious brat who should not interfere with the condition of others' health', though."

Iroh laughed. "I feel sorry for whoever called you that! Did they go from a doctor to a patient?"

Toph grinned. "My parents were there. They're the ones that told that doctor off. Politely, of course."

"Of course." Iroh grinned back.

"Ahem." Aang coughed. "Shouldn't we focus on the 'Katara' problem?"

Both nodded.

"Then we have a hospital to go to!"

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Katara was beyond confused. Zuko had mentioned that the boy who punched him was Jet, but who was Jet? They didn't seem like they were best friends. Jet had punched Zuko, and Katara wanted to know why.

Zuko sighed. "You've been looking at me like that for a while now. Why?"

Katara blushed. "Just want to know who Jet is. He punched you twice!"

"Don't remind me." Zuko grumbled. "Wounds take longer to heal in Hell. It's rather annoying."

"So who is he?"

"He's-" Zuko got cut off.

"Want him to tell you himself?"

Katara looked around. Jet was standing a few feet away from the pair.

"Zuko. Can you give us a few minutes? I would like to talk to the pretty lady alone."

Katara blushed.

"I forbid you." Zuko hissed. "It was made clear that she is my responsibility, and I intend to stay by her side for a month like promised."

"Aw. Is the poor murderer trying to get let into heaven? Do you think that they'll let you go in after what you've done?"

"If I protect Katara for a month they might." Zuko grumbled.

"So Katara's your name. That's beautiful! Are you Asian?" Katara flushed a deeper crimson.

"I'm sure that I'll be fine on my own, Zuko. Just let us talk for a few minutes." She proposed.

Zuko gave in. "I'll give you two minutes. If you take any longer, I'll find you. And if you do _anything_ to Katara, I'll-"

Zuko stopped talking. Jet's eyes flashed and a smile played on his face. "You'll what. Kill me? I'm already dead. It will have no meaning now that-"

"That's enough, I'm starting to count." Jet frowned.

"Fine. Katara and I will go now, "Jet tugged Katara behind him to a nearby rock for privacy. "See? She's not hurt."

"Yet, Jet." Zuko replied softly.

As soon as Zuko saw the two walk behind a rock, he let his anger out.

"AGH!" He cradled his head in his hands and thought aloud. "What if he tells her? Would he do something like that? He knows…"

------------------------------------------

The drive to the Hospital was noisy. Both Toph and Iroh were big talkers and seemed to choose this moment to question every aspect of Aang's life.

"Who do you live with?" was the first question that came up.

"Well," replied Aang. "I live with my guardian Gyatso."

"Oh," Toph began. "So where are your parents?"

"I'm not sure. The only other relative I have heard of is my cousin Roku. I think that they died in a car crash slightly after I was born. I never even knew them."

"I'm sorry. Maybe this chat is too personal for your likes." Iroh commented.

Aang nodded. He had never liked talking about his family. He hardly knew anybody!

The car arrived at the Hospital slightly after the chat. The three walked up to the receptionist's desk.

"We're here to see my brother Ozai." Iroh swiftly lied.

"Who are those two with you?" the receptionist asked suspiciously.

"Uh, these are my… nephew and niece! They were very close to my brother. The girl is uh, Juana Estuar E. The boy is her brother um, Javier Contrar E."

The receptionist muttered something about 'kids these days', but reluctantly gave them the room number.

Toph elbowed Iroh in the ribs. "Juana and Javier? Do we look like a Juana and a Javier to you?"

Iroh smiled. "I thought that it was rather clever!"

"And whose name is estuary? And Contrary? I could have come up with something better! Even John Doe and Sally Sample would have worked."

"Well," Toph pointed out. "The names _did_ work. I just feel like an idiot now. Estuary? Isn't that, like, where salty water and fresh water meet?"

The three walked into the room where Ozai was lying.

"I thought we weren't seeing Ozai." Toph grumbled. "Did you make up those names just for your own personal entertainment?"

"Pretty much." Iroh grinned.

Ozai was sleeping soundly in his restful coma.

"Why did you call us your nephew and niece?" Toph questioned. "Couldn't we just have been your children?"

"I look too old to be your father." Iroh pointed out. "I used to have a nephew, too. He passed away last year, though."

"I'm sorry." Aang mumbled. "What was his name?"

"Zuko. But enough of this! Let's contact your friend. Her name was Katara, right?"

Aang nodded.

"Then let's do this! Aang: grab my hand and think of Katara."

Aang nodded, having no problems with thinking about Katara.

"Now say this with me:

_Oh mighty spirit: in Hell or Heaven,_

_It is Katara we now seek._

_If I close my eyes and count to seven_

_Will you please let us speak?"_

And Aang did just this.

----------------------------------------

Jet silently laughed as he heard a small noise and instantly knew that it was Zuko. Why was he so worried about Katara's opinion of him? Did he like this girl? Probably not. With Zuko's track record, though, it wouldn't be surprising that he would go for an impossible catch. An angel and a Hellion? Not a chance!

A part of Jet knew that if he wanted to make Zuko's life a living Hell (literally!), he would have to start with this girl.

"How do you know Zuko?" the girl asked.

"It's a long story. Here's the brief version: we were friends on Earth." Jet remarked. "_Best _friends."

Katara smiled but was then more confused. "But you punched him because…"

"Oh." Jet muttered. "I said _childhood_ friends. When we were teens, we grew apart. We both had totally different opinions! His father was demanding and cruel, and I think it rubbed off on him."

"I see. His father sounds awful!"

"Yeah." Jet muttered. "Then his father became our town leader. He began taking over businesses and putting them out of business! Zuko said that he would make his father stop, but it didn't work. All I know is that Zuko came back to school a week later with one major difference."

"What was different?" Katara tried to ask, but a shout interrupted her.

"YOUR TWO MINUTES ARE UP! GET BACK HERE!"

Both sighed. "I'll see you… sometime. Go to Zuko! I'll tell you more later."

Katara nodded and ran off.

----------------------------------

Aang opened his eyes and looked around. He and Iroh appeared to be in a chamber of colored lights.

"This is the place!" Iroh smiled. "Katara should be here any minute. I do not believe that she is aware yet."

Suddenly the walls of the chamber darkened and two figures walked in.

"What the Hell?" Came from the older boy.

"Katara!" yelled Aang.

"Aang!?"

"UNCLE?!?"

"ZUKO?!?"

------------------------------------

DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUN!

My longest chapter yet! Hope you don't kill me for the cliffie!

REVIEW!!! : ) (my evil face) I know that I'll get a lot of flames for ending there… oh boy.

OH. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! (muhahahaha!)


	6. Chapter 6

SunSetSoItSeems: I would just like to announce that I have BROKEN 1,000 HITS!!! YAY!!! (Sorry. I just had to say that. Thanks to all of my loyal reviewers, I am now _officially_ happy. (Yay! I hug you all!)

Crackerrrrr x Natashaa: akward….! Anyways I'm going to be pretending to help SunSet when really, I'm just going to be eating all of her quakes and rubbing it in that I was the first to read chapter 6. JK!

Rating: T for Intense cliffies, Haru's facial hair… and Hellness. (and language, and cabbage man-age, etc.)

Now we start:

Chapter Six

Toph was _bored_. Being blind was possibly the most awful thing that had ever happened to her! Even if she _was_ blind, she didn't have to be left out of all the fun stuff she could have done. Aang and Iroh going to the spirit world? Awesome! Toph having to stay behind? Predictable!

_Sigh._

All Toph could do was sit in an uncomfortable chair and wait. It was quiet.

_Quiet?_ Toph thought. _Why does it feel weird to be in a quiet hospital room?_

Then Toph realized something.

"OZAI!"

Sure enough, the heart monitor was no longer making the steady beat Toph was used to hearing. _Oh my god_ _I should call the nurses!__ WAIT! Iroh and Aang are still in the spirit world! If I call the nurses, they'll never be able to get out!_

Toph was suddenly glad that she was left behind. _If I wasn't here, somebody might've en__tered and called the nurses!_

Toph decided to wait until the others were back to tell them the news:

Ozai was dead.

------------------------------------

The four stared at each other in silence for a few seconds.

"Is that really you, Aang?" Katara whispered.

"Yes." Aang replied, and swept his best friend into the hug he had been deprived of earlier.

Zuko and Iroh just looked at each other. It seemed that both were just waiting for the other to say something.

"Uh, Iroh?" Aang asked. "Are you okay?"

Iroh finally responded. "Yes, Aang. I would like to introduce you to my nephew. Aang, this is Zuko."

Aang had hardly noticed Zuko before. Now that he thought about it, though, why was Zuko with Katara anyway?

"Hello." Zuko greeted.

"Zuko! May I have a word with you?" Iroh asked.

The two walked a short distance away to talk.

"So!" Aang said casually. "Who is Zuko?"

"He's my guide!" Katara responded. "I'm supposed to be in Heaven, but for some reason-"

"Are you in Hell?!?" Aang yelled. "Are you kidding me? You're perfect! You've never done anything wrong in your life!"

"It's okay, Aang. This is only for a month. Then I'll gladly leave Zuko and fly up to Heaven." Katara couldn't help but say this bitterly.

"Why? Is he mean to you? He hasn't done anything… _shady_… has he?" Aang asked nervously.

"Not to me. It's just…" Katara lowered her voice. "He's a murderer!"

"Are you for serious?!?" Aang shouted. "That's crazy! You should tell Them!"

"They know! That's why they put me with him, apparently. I guess it's to keep him in line. It didn't matter though. He got punched by this guy. Twice!"

Aang gaped. "Why? Did he kill him?"

Katara shook her head. "I don't know. Jet, that's the guy who punched him, said that they were enemies. Zuko keeps on going on about a mistake he made. I think that it might have something to do with Jet."

Aang nodded. "That makes sense, I guess."

----------------------------------------------

Iroh and Zuko's walk was mostly silent. Iroh finally found a place far enough away from the others to talk.

"Uncle-"

"He's not dead."

"What?" Zuko was confused.

"The boy. He's not dead. He's being hospitalized, though. " Iroh said quiet voice.

"That's good." Zuko replied.

"Zuko." Iroh felt it hard to continue. "Did you… I mean are you in…"

Zuko looked down. "I'm in Hell, uncle."

----------------------------------------------

Aang looked over and saw a strange sight. It looked as if Iroh was crying, and Zuko was close to it.

"What's wrong?" Katara asked seeing the look on his face.

"They must've been close." Aang commented and pointed to the pair.

Katara looked on sadly. "I can't help but feel sorry for him. Both of them! They must miss each other so much."

Aang nodded. "With Zuko being on Hell, too."

Katara felt herself get a little upset with Aang.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Aang glanced at her suspiciously. "Zuko's in Hell so when Iroh dies…"

Katara glared at her hand. "Oh."

"Enough about that!" Aang smiled. "We have to think of a way to get you out of here."

"Are you kidding?" Katara yelled. Iroh and Zuko were swiftly walking back, looking quite confused.

"SHHHH!" Aang commanded. "We have to get you out of here, and Iroh can't know!"

"I don't care! In a month, I'm going to be in Heaven! Sokka and Mom will be there! I'll be happy at last!"

"What about me? I'm your best friend, right?" Aang shouted back. "Don't you care that I'll miss you?"

"Of course I care! I just can't stand that you are only concerned for your happiness!" Katara yelled.

Both stopped talking to each other.

"Katara I think that we should get going." Zuko commented, grabbing Katara's arm.

"No!" Aang yelled. "Where are you going?"

"We were going to my house before we got interrupted-"

"Your house?" Aang looked confused. "Katara can't go to your house. She's a girl."

"I've been to your house, Aang." Katara commented.

"That's different! You'll be sleeping at his house. _Together." _

Both Katara and Zuko looked thoroughly disgusted.

"We won't be sleeping together. EVER." Katara grimaced. "That sounded so wrong…"

"Who knows!" Iroh whispered to Aang. "My nephew is quite a charmer."

Aang looked grossed out.

"That's enough!" Zuko rolled his eyes. "We'll be sleeping in the same room, but not the same bed."

"See!" Aang yelled. "Together!"

"WE'RE NOT SLEEPING TOGETHER!" Zuko and Katara yelled together, turning a pleasant cherry red.

"Aang, we better be going." Iroh said 'calmly', trying to hold back his laughter.

The two pairs then separated again.

--------------------------------------------------

Toph smiled as she heard the two enter the room, but then scowled. Did she have to break the news?

Iroh and Aang came out, looking thoroughly exhausted.

"We're back!" Aang smiled.

"I know. I'm not deaf, you know." Toph couldn't help but keep the nervousness out of her voice.

"What's wrong?" Aang asked. Toph frowned.

"Well..."

"Well what?" Aang raised an eyebrow.

Toph cleared her throat. "Ozai is… dead."

Only one word was uttered after this awful confession.

"Zuko."

----------------------------------------------------

END OF CHAPTER SIX!!!

OH! Please check out my Avatar poll at the top of my profile page! It's great! Sorry about the cliffhangers… I just got tired of typing. (XD!)

Yeah, the awkward part was really fun to write. My beta found it funneh.

REVIEW!!!

(beta) Alright SunSet's replacement Beta, Crackerrrrr x Natashaa , has a poll for you guys:

What was the most awkward avatar story you've ever read? Oh, and go read my fics. AND REVIEW!


	7. Chapter 7

SunSetSoItSeems: Hello! 'Kay. First I would like to thank all of my loyal reviewers. You guys rock! Second, I would like to announce the results of my poll: Eleven people have participated, and so far Azula and the cabbage man are tied. Vote now or forever hold your peace!

Rating: T for smacking, awkward turtles, two people _not_ sleeping together, Haru's alarming facial hair, excessive lists, intense cliffies, lack of chapter names, and (my beta would like me to say this) SunSet's abuse of commas.

I dedicate this chapter to _Crackerrrrr x Natashaa_ for getting 'Dark Blue' by _Jack's Mannequin _stuck in my head. Thanks to you, cousin.

Enjoy:

Chapter Seven

Zuko and Katara _finally_ reached Zuko's house. After all of the distractions and disturbances, home was a nice sight.

"I know it's nothing great but…" Zuko trailed off. "I guess nothing in Hell is."

"I'm just glad that I don't have to sleep on the ground." Katara muttered.

"The beds are almost exactly the same as the ground." Zuko moaned. "I wish they were a little comfy."

"Thanks for warning me." Katara looked at the front door. "Aren't you going to unlock the door?"

"There are no locks in Hell." Zuko sighed. "They seriously need to expand the rules."

The room was quite… _drab._ The walls were a colorless, feeling-less, gray. The floor was covered in dirt and a black rug was the only covering from the cold, hard floor. A few candles were lit, though they didn't make up for overall blandness of the room.

"Nothing great, I told you." Zuko shook his head. "This house has two floors. The staircase is this way."

Zuko led Katara to another dreary room. "This is the kitchen. It has a cabinet, a stove that doesn't work, and a half-broken table to boot."

Katara could only stare in wonder as she walked around. All around was the feeling of despair. It was almost as if the house itself was built to bring hopelessness to the owner.

"The bedroom is upstairs. We should probably sleep. It's been quite a while since you've slept. It's not healthy." Zuko insisted. Katara gave in with a yawn.

------------------------------------------------

"Please tell me this is a joke!" Iroh pleaded, his fingers intertwining in an earnest way. Toph looked down.

"I'm sorry about your brother."

"It's not my brother I'm worried about." Iroh said sadly. "We weren't close. It's my nephew that I'm concerned for. Ozai was his father."

Aang shrugged. "What's that supposed to mean? Ozai's going to throw him a party?"

Iroh shook his head vigorously. "No! They weren't close. Ozai had two children. Zuko and a daughter named Azula." The three sat down.

"Zuko was an honest child. He loved nothing more than to talk to his mother and play with me. Azula, on the other hand, was a monster. She loved to take advantage of Zuko and stay on her father's good side."

"That must've sucked." Toph snorted.

"Yes it did." Iroh continued. "Ozai never liked Zuko. He was born premature, and Ozai took this as a sign of weakness. So when Azula was born, Ozai had a new favorite child and ignored Zuko. Well Ozai owned a family business. This made our family quite rich. Zuko was going to inherit the position of manager once he grew up."

"Sweet!" Toph and Aang grinned thinking of the cash.

Iroh smiled slightly. "Ozai offered Zuko to go into a business meeting with him."

"I thought that Ozai hated Zuko." Aang pointed out.

"Well, Zuko was going to inherit the fortune. He was the eldest son."

"Oh. Now I get it." Aang lied. Toph rolled her eyes.

"Zuko attended the meeting as planned. At this particular meeting Ozai was thinking of putting a company out of business. Zuko forgot to stay quiet and yelled out that it was unfair. Ozai got very angry at Zuko. He demanded that Zuko tell this company that they were going out of business or he was not let back into his house."

Aang and Toph remained quiet, not wanting to talk about this.

"Zuko was banished from his house and came to live with me. He was frightened that the company would hate him, and put off talking to them for a year. He never got the chance to talk to them. He… passed away."

"I'm sorry." Toph whispered.

"Why did he do that? Isn't that kind of… cowardly?" Aang asked, clearly confused.

"People can't help it if they die or not." Toph hissed. Iroh remained quiet.

"Not that! I meant to put off talking to that company for so long! Why was he so scared?"

"That company was special to him. The manager was the father of his best friend. Jet."

Aang gasped.

"Jet?"

----------------------------------

Katara and Zuko stood in the doorway for what seemed like minutes. Both were staring at the lone bed in the center of the room. The cot was surrounded by a circle of brightly lit candles, casting shadows onto the gray walls.

"I thought you said that you had _two_ beds." Katara practically growled.

"I did!" Zuko yelled throwing his arms up. "I had two beds, candles against the wall, and a table! What's _this_?"

Zuko rushed over to the bed and frantically searched around for something. His hands moved all along the bed probing. Suddenly his hands jerked up with a small piece of paper in them.

"_This is your punishment, Zuzu._

_You__ should know that you can't get into Heaven._

_Have fun with one bed,_

_The DEVIL_" Zuko read aloud.

He ran his hands through his hair. "AGH!"

Katara would have smirked had she not been in as bad of a situation as Zuko.

"I can't believe this!" Zuko lowered his voice. "Have one thought about redeeming yourself, and all of a sudden you have one less bed."

Katara gulped. "You can have the bed. I'll just sleep on the floor."

Zuko shook his head. "You're the angel. I'll sleep on the floor."

Katara smiled gratefully. "Thanks so much!"

Zuko just waved his hand dismissively. "It's nothing. I'm just warning you: night is hot in Hell."

Katara nodded and stepped into the bed. Zuko swiftly removed his shirt and lay down on the ground, leaving a blushing Katara to sleep.

------------------------------------------------

"Jet?" Aang gaped. "Are you for serious?!?"

"You say that a lot." Toph muttered.

Iroh nodded. "Jet and Zuko were best friends. It's a pity that they passed away."

"Katara said something about Jet. Also something about a mistake. I'm not sure what she meant, though." Aang was confused again.

"After Zuko died, Ozai did the unthinkable. He walked over to Jet's house and announced the closing of their business."

Aang and Toph stood up in shock.

"Are you for serious?" Toph mimicked Aang.

Iroh nodded. "He also added that this was Zuko's dying wish."

"That's awful! What kind of a father does that to his son?" Aang still couldn't believe it. "I never knew my parents, as you know, but Gyatso has never done anything that compares to that!"

Toph nodded. "My parents would never do that. What about his mother? What did she do about that?"

Iroh shook his head. "Ursa died when Zuko was twelve. He mentioned when I visited him that he had spent a month looking for her in Hell. I guess she's in Heaven."

"Zuko must be so upset." Toph mumbled.

"I don't believe that he is." Iroh smiled. "Ursa was Zuko's comfort, but I'm sure that Zuko is happy knowing that his mother is better off than he is."

Toph and Aang smiled. "You guys better go." Iroh told them. "It's getting quite late."

Aang and Toph walked out of the Hospital together, each heading in a different direction.

Iroh stood in the exact same place as a nurse came in.

"Ozai has passed." He informed her. The nurse gasped.

"Oh my!" She pressed a few buttons on the wall and contacted a superior.

"Was he your brother?" The nurse asked. Iroh nodded.

"I'm sorry." She looked at Iroh sadly.

"Me too."

------------------------------------------

END OF CHAPTER SEVEN!!! Oh and for those who didn't get it, Iroh was saying that he was sad that he was Ozai's brother. Not about him dying.

This was the longest chapter yet, so be happy. By, like, two-hundred words, too. Have fun reviewing!!!

(please?) Oh! This chapter, feel free to ask me anything you want! (Not anything lame or anything. Not like 'who did Zuko kill?' Just be creative!)

HAPPY… DAY?

V review!!


	8. Chapter 8

SunSetSoItSeems: Hey there! I'm _really _sorry for not updating sooner, but going back to school is super hard for me. I blame all the homework I get. So, I would first like to thank all of my reviewers for putting up with me. (Thanks!) I can't believe that I almost have 100 reviews! The 100th reviewer gets a cookie! I _so_ want to go see _P.S. I Love You_. Gerry Butler? (Drool!)

I won't waste any more time ranting. Enjoy!

OH! My friend _paleflower_ just put up a fic. It's called _Love Bending_. Go read and review!

Rating T: for language and Hellness. (No list this time!)

Chapter Eight

Katara yawned largely as she sat up in her bed. A good night's sleep had always been quite relaxing, if not _very, very_ enjoyable. Katara was just about to get on some new clothes when she realized where she was.

"Crap." Katara muttered, shaken from her good mood. "I'm in Hell."

"That's what I say when I wake up every day, too." Zuko called from the floor, stifling a yawn also.

"Someone's in a bad mood." Katara grumbled, not exactly in the mood to get out of her bed yet.

"No, we're all nice and peachy down here in Hell. Try to find someone who isn't." Zuko covered his face with his hands, also not awake enough to get up.

"I'll tell you when I see one." Katara rolled her eyes and looked down. She saw Zuko lying on the ground looking quite uncomfortable.

"Did you really sleep on the ground all night?" Katara suddenly felt guilty. While quite exhausted, she had forgotten that she was the only one that had a bed to sleep on.

"No. I snuck out in the middle of the night, slept in another bed, and then came back here." Zuko's words were laced with cold sarcasm.

"Why are you in such a bad mood today?" Katara felt an urge to send her foot flying into his face.

"Why are glaring at me as if you want to kill me?" Zuko glared right back.

"You're already dead."

"Nothing gets past you."

The two began to glare at each other in an unspoken staring/glaring contest. Then Katara noticed something. Zuko had the most beautiful amber eyes she had ever seen. There was no way to describe it. Was it even possible to have amber eyes?

"Why was it you that I had to be stuck with." Katara muttered, tearing her eyes away, blushing.

"Sometimes I ask myself the same thing." Zuko looked at Katara. "Why are you even down here?"

"They said that something was wrong with the gate or something." Katara looked down."I just want to go up there with my brother and mother."

Zuko looked down also and muttered something.

"What?" Katara strained her eyes to hear.

"When you go up there…" Zuko stopped and looked up. "When you go up there will you say hello to my mother for me?"

It was nearly impossible to respond when Katara looked at Zuko's face. His eyes looked almost like glass, and his look seemed almost to plead with her.

"Sure." It surprised Katara how meek her voice sounded. It was almost as if it was an entirely different person, speaking to Zuko softly.

"Her name is Ursa." Katara nodded.

"That's a beautiful name. Was she pretty?"

"Gorgeous." Zuko responded. "I know she's in Heaven. I would like you to tell her that… that I love her."

"I understand." Katara smiled at him. "When my brother, Sokka, died, all I wanted to do was tell him I loved him one last time. He died in the war. Shot by the Fire Nation."

"The Fire Nation?" Zuko groaned. "I have had some experience with them."

Katara was confused. "You have?"

Katara came upon a sudden realization. His eyes… the tell tale amber eyes. Katara had heard stories about a family in the Fire Nation that had royal blood in them. Everybody hated them, though. It didn't matter who the person was. Their relatives were murderers. They all had amber eyes, apparently. At the time she had just thought that it was a bedtime story for little children.

Was Zuko in this family? Was that how he died? Was he killed by a Fire Nation enemy?

"Let's go get some food." Zuko pulled Katara behind him, walking to the East. "The market is this way."

Katara was dragged all the way, silently wishing that he would slow down.

"What did Iroh tell you? It sounded like he talked about some boy. Who is that?"

"Well aren't you nosy today?" Zuko rolled his eyes. "Are you trying to figure out some sort of mystery?"

"Yes. _You_ are the mystery. You never say anything unless you know that I'll be even more confused!"

Zuko smirked. "I'm mysterious, eh? I'm glad. Mysteriousness adds on to my charm."

"Charm? Are you serious?" Katara laughed. "Who's been lying to you?"

Zuko glared at Katara. "That would be my uncle. He almost never tells the truth. To me, anyways."

"So who was that boy you mentioned, again?" Katara subtly hinted.

"Nice try." Zuko glanced at her, smiling. "I'll tell you anyways. His name is Lu Ten. He's my cousin. Apparently he is in the hospital now. I thought he was dead."

"That's good to know!" Katara smiled, trying to remain optimistic. "He's alive!"

"So I won't see him again." Zuko pointed out. "He was in the war, too. He was almost killed. He'll go to Heaven, I'm sure."

"I'm glad there's only one wrong-doer in your family." Katara muttered to herself. Zuko responded with a glare.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that. My dad was pretty bad."

The two soon arrived at the market. "What's going on?"

The market was quieter than usual. Everyone was almost completely silent, though a few women and men were gossiping quietly. The crowd was looking in the general direction of the center, so Zuko dragged Katara along to get a closer look.

"What's all of this about?" Zuko called out, raising the attention of all the nearby buyers and sellers.

An older man turned around and looked Zuko straight in the eye.

"Hello, Zuko my son." Ozai smiled his fake smile at his son's face. "Who would've thought that we would meet up here?"

Zuko felt a sudden headache come on as he walked off, swaying slightly, never responding to his father.

"Speak of the devil." He muttered, and walked off quickly, leaving Katara behind. As quick as a ninja, Katara ran to Zuko's side.

"What's wrong?" she asked, though she knew exactly what he was worried about.

"My fath- Ozai is here." It was clear that Zuko was not inclined to have a friendly chat about his family, so Katara let him lead her to wherever he was going.

"Where _are_ we going?" Katara asked, going in the same direction Zuko was.

"A lake. Lake Laogai." Zuko muttered. "That will help me. I don't feel so good…"

As soon as the words were uttered, Zuko fell back onto the ground and was out cold.

Katara watched as he fell down, but did not know what to do. Her brain refused to function, and she felt her feet go cold.

"Great. Where's Lake Laogai?"

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END OF CHAPTER EIGHT!!!

Okay, poll.

Pirates or Ninjas?

(The 'Who has been lying to you?' was for my beta, and the past 'Are you for serious?' was for my dear sister, lour. Have fun you guys!)

And yes, the poll was for you, Crackerrrrr x Natashaa. Ninjas are superior!

REVIEW!!!


	9. Chapter 9

SunSetSoItSeems: Hey there! I know that I updated a Taang one-shot before I updated this chapter, but it was for a homework assignment. Thank you all for waiting patiently and reviewing! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

DEDICATED TO 'Ms. Maria and Ms. Kiera' FOR BEING MY 100th REVIEWER:)

Rated T: for un-wittiness, madness? This is Sparta, language, cliffhangers, awkward turtles, w00t, and psych (the TV show on USA network). This is actually a total lie. It's for language only.

Enjoy!

Chapter Nine

Katara just stared at Zuko for a few moments. He looked so…_ delicate_ lying there. It wasn't a word she would ever use when he was awake, but it seemed to fit him now. He was sweating pretty hard. Katara recalled him saying that Lake Laogai would make him feel better…

BUT WHERE IN HELL WAS LAKE LAOGAI?!?

Katara groaned and slapped her forehead. Why was this so difficult? She couldn't just carry him: he looked too heavy for her strength level. She couldn't _drag_ him, even though the idea sounded fine to her. The boy was hurt enough.

Suddenly Katara thought of something. She rushed over to the mountain right by the market and waited for a familiar cry. Sure enough, a cart full of cabbages fell down, stopping just at her feet. She could put Zuko in this cart and _wheel_ him to the lake! It was pure brilliance.

Katara took the initiative to dump out all of the cabbages on the ground. Behind her she heard a cry of sadness mixed with rage. A fuming cabbage merchant chained to a mountain was glaring _daggers_ at her. It was more than a little frightening. Lucky for Katara, he was chained to a mountain.

Katara wheeled the cart in front of her back to where Zuko was lying peacefully. The sight she saw surprised her. Jet was there, picking Zuko up onto his back. He looked at Zuko with an almost _heartrending_ expression on his face. It was pained.

He hadn't spotted Katara yet, so used this to her advantage. Jet was leading her straight to the lake!

It was a devastatingly long and tedious walk. Katara wasn't sure how Jet was carrying Zuko on his back and not collapsing, but it suited her quite fine. Katara could feel the beads of sweat resting on her neck. She began to feel a sudden urge jump in that lake too…

Maybe that was the point. They make the walk so _long_ and _agonizing_that every person that walks to Lake Laogai felt the urge to jump in and cool off. Then some sort of sea creature or monster would gobble the unsuspecting pedestrian up.

Katara shuddered involuntarily. The thought was enough to make her shudder, but Zuko said Lake Laogai was where he should go…

Zuko wouldn't want to purposefully kill Katara. He was her _guide_ for crying out loud. He wouldn't want to hurt her… right?

Jet suddenly stopped walking. Sure enough, a dark gloomy fog began to seep up from the ground. Jet had spotted the lake and stopped walking, setting Zuko down on the ground gently. Katara was befuddled. Weren't Zuko and Jet enemies?

A quiet sound came from Jet's mouth.

"I'm sorry. I never got a chance to tell you this. I know you'll never hear this, but I'd never be able to build up the courage to tell this to your face. I… didn't mean to take my anger out on you. You didn't deserve it. You never deserved it." Jet sighed and walked away.

"Jet." Katara whispered feeling tears fill her eyes. She wasn't sure why she was crying, but her emotions suddenly took over. If Jet secretly apologized to Zuko, then what did he do to Zuko?

Katara heard Jet's soft, steady footsteps leave the lake. Zuko groaned quietly, shifting in his sleep and Katara rushed to his side. His forehead felt like it was on fire! Katara looked around for a piece of cloth, and settled for a portion of the bottom of her pants. Ripping the fabric lightly, she walked towards the edge of the lake.

Katara dunked the cloth into the cool water. She squeezed the water from it and placed it on Zuko's forehead. Katara saw his body tense for a second, and then relax.

Then she waited.

--------------------

Aang and Toph had been hanging out a lot recently. They were becoming best friends, even though Aang had still not given up on Katara yet. As long as he believed she could come back to life, he had said before, there was a chance she could.

"Seriously, Aang. You have to stop moping! I know that you just lost your friend, but you have to do something else! I lost some one too. My best friend when I was young was an animal: a badger. We were close, but then he passed away. I was upset at first, but then I got over it."

"Katara's not the same as your badger! She and I were close! We were like peanut butter and jelly! Mac and cheese!"

"Romeo and Juliet!" Toph said and smirked as Aang blushed deeply.

"Not _that_ type of close." Aang had still not regained composure.

"I can't even believe how much you liked this girl." Toph shook her head sadly. "It's quite obvious, so don't deny it."

Aang looked at the floor and sighed. "I know. I asked her out, and then she got hit be a car."

Toph snorted. "Smooth."

Aang just glared harshly. "I'm not inclined to respond to that."

"I'm not inclined to care." Toph rolled her eyes, but smiled. "You know, you're not half bad twinkle-toes."

Aang smiled. "I'm glad."

Toph grinned wider and grabbed Aang's hand. "Let's go to the park. It's boring here."

The two walked to the park, making small talk on the way. Aang took the initiative to buy them some Slurpies, and they sat down on a nearby bench.

"This was really nice, Aang. I'm glad we went here. We're friends, right?"

"Yeah." Aang smiled at her. "Thanks for getting my mind off of Katara, even if it was only for a day."

Toph smiled back. "Yeah. I have to go home, though."

Toph stood up to leave, but Aang grabbed her hand and panted a soft, sweet kiss on her cheek. Toph blushed and ran home, waving to Aang as she went.

--------------------------

Zuko groaned as he woke up and promptly sat up. After feeling a sharp pain in his head, he laid back down.

"It's okay. Try and get some rest. I think you have some sort of Hell-fever." Katara spoke softly.

"Hell-fever?" Zuko questioned. "Troublesome."

"What else could it be?" Katara grabbed the piece of cloth off of his forehead to drench in water. "At least this explains the strange symptoms."

"I think it's just the shock of seeing my father again. A fever doesn't come on that suddenly anyways."

"Why does that mean so much to you? If I saw my father again, I' be ecstatic!" Katara felt a pang in her heart as she thought about her father.

"Things are different with my father. " Zuko said. "We weren't… close. He saw things differently than I did."

Zuko let out a pain stricken yelp. "Is it really hot, or is it just me?"

"I think you're overheating! You do have a fever!" Katara stuck her tongue out at Zuko. He responded with a groan.

Katara crawled over to Zuko and began to lift up his shirt.

"Wh-what are you doing?!?" Zuko exclaimed, sitting up and removing her hands from his shirt.

"You're overheating! Just shut up and take off your shirt!" Katara said in defense.

"I think I'm capable of removing my own items of clothing, thank you very much." Zuko replied.

Zuko lifted up his hands and removed his shirt. Katara blushed a deep crimson and pried her eyes away.

"Hot damn." Katara whispered, placing the wet cloth on his forehead again.

"What was that?" Zuko asked.

"Uh, I like ham? It was my favorite food back on Earth. It's hella good! What's your favorite food?" Katara rambled and blushed an even _deeper_ shade of red.

"I guess tea." Zuko muttered. "You can blame my uncle for that."

"Tea isn't a food. You must really be delirious." Katara giggled as she soaked his chest with water from the lake. "So tell me about your father."

Zuko groaned. "Are you for serious? It's a long story."

"I'm down here for a month, and you for… eternity." Katara smiled "If we're going to be down here together for a while, I think I deserve to know a little more about you."

"Fine. Here I go…"

----------------------------

End chappy nine! (I can't believe it's this long so far!)

I would like to give a shout out to my betas, crackerrrrr x natashaa and my sister TB, who had a lot of say in this chapter; and helped make it:)

REVIEW!!!


	10. Chapter 10

SunSetSoItSeems: Gah! I'm sorry for not updating sooner, but I'm _really_ sick. I have a 101.9 degree fever (Fahrenheit)! Bleh. My mom says that I might have strep… so… I'm worried. The last time I was checked for strep throat, I bit my doctor. To make matters worse, I woke up today, and it was ten below!

Stupid Illinois…

Happy Tenth Chapter everybody! This chappy is dedicated to AlinaAlone#1 because she called my cliffhanger brilliant:) (Also to my 30 alert-ers. You guys rock!!!)

Rated T: for language (I'm too sick to write a list.)

Chapter Ten

Zuko glanced around to see if anybody was watching them and then continued.

"Okay, here's the story."

Katara smiled slightly as Zuko took a deep breath.

"From the time my little sister was born, my father and I never really got along." He started.

"You have a baby sister?" Katara asked in wonder.

Zuko shook his head. "I'm not sure if _baby_ is the right word for her…"

"Ah." Katara nodded. "Continue, please!"

"Will do! Well, my father owns a _really_ large business, and I was supposed to inherit it because I was his eldest child. Ozai began to give me business lessons at the age of _five_."

"Are you for serious? That's so early! Did you even know how to do business?" Katara's eyes were wide with shock.

"No! That was the problem. I wasn't good at math or business. I wasn't even _interested_ in it! I loved my father though, so I learned for him. I struggled through it, and I still wasn't good enough."

"What were you interested in doing, then? What did you want to be when you grew up?"

Zuko frowned. "I wasn't sure. At one time I wanted to be a glass-blower. Another time I wanted to be an artist!"

Katara looked confused. "You can draw?"

"No. That's why my father wanted me to be the CEO of his business. He said I wasn't good at anything else. I wasn't good at business either though. My mother was the only one that supported me."

Katara smiled sadly. "She's the one that's in heaven?"

"Yeah." Zuko smiled for a split second, but then continued on with his story. "Soon my sister was old enough to start learning business. By her fifth year in business, she had already surpassed my knowledge! My father called her a prodigy of business! She was a demon to me, though."

"A demon? What do you mean?" Katara hoped she was wrong about what she thought, but it didn't sound like it could mean anything else.

"A bully. She knew that she was father's favorite. She knew that she couldn't be blamed for anything she did to me. It was torture. My mom stopped her most of the time."

Katara's stomach growled loudly drawing Zuko's attention away from his tale. "Do you want to walk to the market?"

Katara nodded, turning a deep shade of crimson. "Talk while we walk!" She commanded, trying to seem tough.

Zuko just raised an eyebrow and nodded his head. Katara blushed again. "Just start walking." She mumbled.

Zuko chuckled and shook his head. Katara glared at him as she stood up and stretched her legs. It was if he was _trying_ to make her look like a tomato!

Zuko stood up and brushed the dirt off of his pants.

"Are you sure you're well enough to be walking?" Katara inquired, raising an eyebrow." Your father might still be there, too."

"I think I'm good now. My father probably left after he scared me half to death. My father should know Hell well. He could be the devil himself!" He responded, wobbling as he tried walking.

"At least put on a shirt before we go." Katara said as she unknowingly set the world record for the most times a girl could blush in a minute.

Zuko leaned over to grab his shirt from the ground and put it on.

"Let's go." The pair walked in the direction of the market and Zuko continued to tell his story. "Where was I?"

Katara shook her head. "I think it was something about your sister being better at business…"

Zuko frowned. "I think I was farther than that. I'll tell you about why I hate my father. That was the point of this story, after all."

Katara nodded. "Do tell!"

"One day my father let me into one of his work meetings to see how I was supposed to act as CEO. Even if my sister was better at business, I was still his eldest child. My uncle warned me not to talk at all, but they were planning on putting a company out of business so I yelled out what I believed." Zuko sighed.

"Is that why you hate your father? Just because you spoke out?" Katara tried to make sense of his statement.

"My father _banished_ me. He took away my home and demanded that I tell the company that I was putting them out of business, or I would never be able to go back home." Zuko sighed again. "That's it."

Katara looked at Zuko sadly. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that someone's father could…"

"Yeah. It wasn't great." Zuko sped up into a jog. "We're almost at the market. Hurry up if you don't want to die of hunger!"

"I'm already dead!" Katara yelled back at him, running at his pace. "If you don't stop running I'll…" Katara stopped mid-sentence as she realized her threat was empty.

"You'll kill me? I'm already dead!" Zuko mimicked as a smile played on his face. Katara giggled quietly and shook her head.

"You're in a better mood." She commented.

"Well, I just want some food and you're running too slowly." He turned around and looked at Katara. She then saw what had intrigued her when she had first seen him. His scar. Katara frowned and slowed down.

"What's wrong?" Zuko asked, clearly interested in why she wasn't enjoying herself. Katara smiled fakely.

"Nothing! I was just…" Realizing that she had no real excuse, Katara looked at his scar again. Zuko noticed.

"I see. This bothers everybody, doesn't it?" Zuko slowed his pace and glanced at Katara.

Katara shook her head in horror. "It doesn't bother me! I was just wondering… uh…" She didn't want to seem pushy. Zuko seemed like the kind of guy that was wounded easily. He also had more mood swings than Katara was used to handling. One minute he was sick, the next he was angsty, then happy, then depressed! What was up?

"You want to know how I got it, right? So does everybody else. This isn't the right place to tell you. Maybe I'll tell you later…" Zuko walked a little faster.

Katara sighed. She could never seem to get him to open up! After everything they had gone through, okay a couple of days, he still wouldn't let her in-

_BAM!_

A hard object collided with Katara's head making a loud noise. "Ouch!"

Zuko looked over at Katara and saw an … _interesting_ sight. The poor girl was holding her head tightly and had formed a rather large, purple bruise on her forehead.

Katara heard the familiar chuckle of her guide and rolled her eyes. _Leave it to Zuko to change emotions quickly…_ Katara sighed and shook her head.

The pair saw a large circle formed in the market. This time, though, it wasn't Ozai that was in the middle. In fact, nobody was in the middle!

"Zuko! What's going on here?" Katara was once again confused. "Why are those people gossiping?"

Zuko gaped. "Not another one!" Katara poked his arm.

"Not another what?"

Zuko just looked at the circle sadly. "Sometimes one of us, the residents of Hell, is sent up to Heaven. No one knows why or how because we don't know what that person did! As soon as they know how to do it, they do it and are sent up! Nobody completely bad has gone up. Only the people that have committed a small crime."

Katara nodded in understanding. "Who was it this time?"

Zuko shook his head. "We won't know unless we check the note with their name on it.

The two walked to middle of the gossiping circle and towards the note. It was a dark red with black lettering on it. Zuko picked up the note and stared at it thoughtfully, and then gasped. Katara saw the note from over his shoulder and instantly knew why he had gasped.

The note read:

_The following has been sent up to the golden gates:_

_J E T_

_The Devil_

_P.S. I'm not telling you how to do the same as him! Hahaha!_

Katara stood shocked in place as Zuko dropped the note onto the floor.

"Are you for serious?" Katara yelled. "Jet?"

Zuko shook his head. "Jet? I don't understand. I just don't understand."

--------------------------

END OF CHAPPY TEN!!!

I just realized that I haven't received any flames, yet. Since I have a high fever, if any of you flamers would like to start now, I wouldn't mind. Any flames (even if they are just virtual put-downs) would warm me up!

Stupid 10 below, stupid Illinois…

REVIEW!!!


	11. Chapter 11

SunSetSoItSeems: Hello fellows! I can't believe that it's chapter eleven already! Thank you everybody that has supported me! I know you guys are just about to shoot me because of all of my cliffies, so I tried my best to leave one out this time. I don't know if I can though… I'm so used to it!

This chapter is dedicated to all people from Illinois! ... (Silence…) Oh, come on! _It's for you! I expect at least two readers are from __I__llinois!_ Maybe…

Well, it's rated T: for hot damn! See? Language! (And the fact that I could very well be sued since I lack a disclaimer…)

Enjoy!

Chapter Eleven

Toph was bored. Maybe she was beginning to become too bored recently. Whenever she would go out with Aang and have some fun, she would end up with nothing to do the next day. She needed something else to do if Aang suddenly decided to go on vacation or something.

"We're back Toph!" Her parents called as they stepped through the front doors. "Did Iroh take good care of you while we were gone?"

Toph nodded slightly and slumped into her couch.

"Toph, honey, that's bad for your posture!" Her mother sounded greatly concerned. Toph just sighed quietly.

"Mother dearest?" She asked in her kindest, most polite and innocent voice. "Can I get a pet?"

Toph's parents were shocked to say the least. "What!"

"Just a small animal! I'm not talking about a dog or anything."

Toph's parents glanced at each other carefully. "I guess you could if it can be taken care of easily…"

Toph smiled brightly and leaped up from the couch. "Thank you so much! You guys are the best! Iroh's going to take me to the nearest Petsmart as soon as he's done buying mango smoothies for us!"

Toph's parents watched nervously as she entered the kitchen. "Toph! We want to be there when you buy this pet!" Her parents called out but Toph waved her hand dismissively.

"Money isn't a problem!" She yelled back. Before they could respond, she was gone with Iroh, smoothies in hand.

"Why did the hospital call anyways?" Toph's father looked sadly upon is daughter.

"I don't know." His wife responded. "I guess we could call back and see…"

----------------------------

Zuko stared at the note on the ground. Katara saw him pinching his wrists tightly as if to wake himself up from a terrible dream. Katara felt decently confused, too. Hadn't the rules of Hell stated that once you were in Hell, you were stuck there? Maybe the rule was just to make the residents lose hope and feel miserable. Maybe there was a way to get up to Heaven!

"Zuko! I think there might be a way to get up to Heaven after all!" Katara whispered quietly.

"No shit, Sherlock." He replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "What would have ever made you think that?"

Katara punched Zuko in the arm strongly. He was obviously having a mood swing again. "I meant that I might know how!"

This statement caught his full attention. "Really? How would _you _know?"

Katara punched his arm again, this time a little bit lighter. "I saw Jet carry you to Lake Laogai."

Zuko looked down in thought, "I was wondering how I got there. So that's how you found the lake..."

"Yes!" Katara reddened. "I couldn't find it, so I put you down to look for a cart-"

"Good to know that I was safe the entire time." Zuko rolled his eyes.

"Stop interrupting me!" Katara nudged him lightly. "Jet picked you up and carried you to the lake. I just followed him, so he didn't realize that I was there."

"Great!" Zuko sighed. "All I have to do is carry my worst enemy to a lake and then I'm free to go to heaven! Too bad he's beaten me there."

"You've got to stop being so sarcastic! It's seriously not healthy." Katara frowned deeply. "That's not it, either."

"I seriously don't think being sarcastic is going to affect my health." Zuko folded his arms across his chest.

"Stop being so stubborn! Do you want a broken _face_?" Katara raised her fist but Zuko only scoffed.

"If I did I would know who couldn't help me." Zuko smirked as Katara fumed.

"Are you calling me weak?" She practically screamed, drawing some attention from the other pedestrians in the market.

"Nothing gets past you!" Zuko rolled his eyes again. "Just tell me what else Jet did."

Katara closed her eyes and looked away. "Maybe I don't want to!"

Zuko sighed. "Look who's being stubborn now!"

"What? Now you can't take turns?" Katara glared earning a tired sigh in return.

"Just tell me what happened." Zuko pleaded and Katara gave in.

"Jet confessed. He told you that what he did was wrong, and that you were his friend or something. I think that's all that he said. He was speaking so quietly…"

"Great." Zuko's palm met his face harshly. "Out of the three people I should apologize or confess to, one is alive, one is in Heaven, and one is my worst nightmare!"

"Jet, your father and who…?" Katara was confused. This was beginning to become a regular habit in Hell.

"Oh. Iroh. I've never really told him how much his opinion mattered to me. I think he might know already though…" Zuko smiled. "Uncle knew everything!"

"That's nice, but how are you going to solve this problem?" Katara pointed out. "All of them are pretty hard to get to, let alone _speak_ to."

"I don't have to tell my uncle. I pretty much told him when he visited here." Zuko responded. "Now I just have to find a way to talk to Jet…"

Katara nodded. "Let's go to sleep first. Eat our food and then sleep through the night. We can start Jet-searching tomorrow."

Zuko and Katara grabbed some food from a nearby stand and ate while they marched home together.

----------------

"You got a _hedgehog_?!" Aang yelled, staring at Toph's smile. "That's awesome!"

"I know!" She squealed back. "I wish I could see it though…"

"It's really cute." Aang admitted sheepishly. "All of my manly pride is gone, so I guess I can admit that now."

"You had manly pride?" Toph giggled loudly. "I would have liked to see _that_!"

Aang frowned and looked away. "I'm not _that_ unmanly. Is that a word?"

"Yeah." Toph smirked devilishly. "It's under your name in the dictionary."

Aang ignored this and beamed. "My name's in the dictionary? Sweet!"

Toph slapped her forehead. "I'm going to pretend that I did not just hear that."

Toph heard her name called from another room. Recognizing the voice of her parents, she waved to Aang and left the room swiftly.

"What's wrong, mom? I've been taking care of my pet just fine. He's not dead yet!" She exclaimed, crossing her arms against her chest.

Toph's mother sighed sadly and shook her head. "That's not what this is about. Your father and I have something we would like to ask you."

"Well, I'm ready for anything! I would like an allowance, I will _not_ model, and sandwiches for dinner would be fine by me." Toph glanced at her mother who was obviously trying to keep her tears at bay.

"Toph, honey, what am I wearing?" Her mother asked quietly, as if to not receive the inevitable response from her daughter.

Toph felt her heart drop in her chest. This was all happening too quickly! She was just starting to become friends with Aang, and now her parents were going to find out that she was blind! They would most likely pamper her to death.

"Uh, you favorite outfit mom! The green one." Toph mumbled, hoping to be right. Toph heard her mother sniffle.

"Pink. Oops." Toph tried to cover it up with a shaky laugh.

"Toph, sweetie, you should probably tell you friend to go home." A deep, sad sounding voice spoke out. Toph nodded in the general direction of her father and went to dismiss Aang.

"I'm sorry Toph." Aang waved as he walked out of her door.

"I'm sorry too." Toph waved back weakly and walked regretfully back into the room her parents were occupying. Trudging back into her mother's protective arms, Toph closed her eyes.

_So this is how it's going to be…_ Was her last thought before the door promptly shut closed.

----------------

GAH! What a depressing chapter! Sorry… Review!!!

OH! I know this is odd, but there's this guy who I have to buy a present for, and I have _no_ idea of what to get him. Ideas would be great, because I warned him that I _can_ and _will_ get a Disney Princess Pez set for him if he doesn't give me ideas.

He hasn't given me any yet… PLEASE help me!!

SunSetSoItSeems

P.S. I am all cured! I had strep, but it's all gone now! Yeah!


	12. Chapter 12

SunSetSoItSeems: Hey there! I'm _really_ sorry if I didn't get a chance to reply to any one of your reviews, but I was really busy this week. I try to reply to all of them, but sometimes I have too much homework. I can't even believe that it's chapter twelve already! I would like to thank all of you for supporting me… OH! I probably shouldn't make some random Oscar speech, though.

Thanks goes out to the 36 people that have this story on Story Alert!! (Speech anyways…) OH! Chill out all of you rabid reviewers! I'm not going to just stop writing this story! People, or authors, who just stop in the middle of a story is one of my biggest pet peeves. So relax! Take a few deep breaths before you review!

I dedicate this chapter to Heath Ledger. Poor guy… At least they filmed the next Batman movie before he passed! (Batman is the best!)

Rated T for language and…disclaimerchapternameiaphobia.

Enjoy my longest chapter yet:

Chapter Twelve (Holy Crap!)

Toph sighed sadly as she blindly gazed out of her barred window. After her mother found out that she had been wandering around town even though she was 'permanently disabled', she had thrown a fit. Toph wasn't sure why the windows were barred because according to her mother: "Blind children should not be allowed in public! Especially when they are alone! They can't even _walk_ without help from an adult!"

Her mother obviously did not know anything! If she had been blind too, she might have known that Toph could still 'see' fine. The details were just a bit fuzzy, and she couldn't 'see' color, but that was it.

Toph had gotten one call from Aang, but her parents had decided that Aang was a bad influence on her, and their time together would be over shortly. It was so _like_ Toph's parents to scare away her only friend. It was as if their life depended on making Toph's miserable!

With one more groan of frustration, Toph lay back onto her bed and fell asleep…

----------------

_A loud cough woke Toph up._

_"Where am I?" Turning around in all directions, all Toph could see was darkness. Usually in her dreams she could see _something

_"You're with me, but I'm not exactly sure where I am either." A teenager's voice replied from the pitch black nothing around her._

_"Who are you?" Toph called out, but no answer was given for some time._

_"My name is Jet."__ The voice finally responded. __"I'm an angel in Heaven, but who are you?"_

_"I'm Toph. I'm a human on Earth. Just a normal kid, I guess."_

_"SO you're alive? I'm dead. Like I said, I'm an angel."_

_"Not another death-thing." Toph mumbled. __"__I thought I had heard enough of this after Iroh and Zuko-"_

_"Zuko?" Jet's voice sounded surprised. "You know Zuko?"_

_Toph nodded even though Jet wouldn't be able to see her. "He's my bodyguard's dead nephew. Wait! __Did__ you say your name was Jet?"_

_"Yeah. I'm Jet."_

_ Toph gasped.__"Iroh told __me __a story about you and Zuko to me! It was about Zuko's father and-" Toph stopped short._

_"What is it? Continue!" Jet's voice pleaded with her quickly. "We don't know how much time you have left with me here!"_

_"__Jet, there's something you don't know about the whole story. You know how Ozai said that Zuko's last request was for your parents' business to be bulldozed?" Toph asked seriously. There was something very fishy going on here, and Toph was going to tell him the truth._

_"Yes. Speak up! I can barely hear your voice!" Jet sounded desperate now._

_"Well it was all a lie! Zuko died while he was trying to avoid you!" Toph screamed as loud as she could._

_"What? I couldn't hear you! TOPH! Are you still there?" Jet yelled back, but his voice was becoming faded._

_"It's all… PIE!" Was all he heard, and soon the dream was over._

_--------------------_

Toph woke up quickly and rubbed her eyes. It had all been a dream! But somehow it had seemed so _real_! Jet's voice, the story, Zuko and Iroh…

"I have _got_ to tell Iroh about this!" Toph rushed to the door, only to turn the knob unsuccessfully. The door was locked! Of course!

It took all of Toph's willpower not to kick down the door herself, or bend the metal bars on the windows. This was urgent news!

_If only Iroh was here…_ Toph thought morosely, and sat down to think on her bed. There had to be something she could do to get out of her room! The only two ways were the door and the window, and both were locked tightly. Knocking down the door would make too much noise, but the windows could work… _Bend metal pipes…_

--------------------

Jet woke up with a start. In his mind he was trying to sort out all of the events in the dream, and eliminate his strange craving for pie…

"It's okay." A nearby nurse called. "It's all okay in Heaven!" All of the nurses somehow knew when Jet was troubled by something, and always had the same answer.

"Thanks Ms…" Jet smiled at the nurse uncertainly.

"Ju Dee." She replied, flashing a wide grin that never faltered. Jet shivered involuntarily and lay back down on his hospital bed. Whenever a Hell resident came up from Hell, they were sent to the Hospital in Heaven. Here they rested, though rumors circulated that they actually brainwashed you to forget wrong-doing.

"Thanks Ju Dee." He muttered into the pure white sheet. There was still something about his dream that bothered him. Zuko had never mentioned someone named Toph before, and she said that she knew Zuko! Maybe this 'Toph' person had just heard Zuko's name and thought of somebody else. Zuko was ever a really social person, so if he even made a friend it was news to Jet.

"I will be sending in another nurse to check up on you in a few minutes." With that, Ju Dee flipped her short black hair and exited the room. Jet breathed out a sigh of relief. At least he could lay down in peace now! The dream still haunted him, though…

"She's just a bit excited to help another person like you." A woman with dark, flowing black hair entered the room. Jet guessed that she was the nurse Ju Dee was talking about. "I'm sorry if she bothered you."

"Nah, Ju Dee's fine with me. It is hospitals I'm worried about. I had to sit with my best friend in here for so long once… I guess it just brings back bad memories." Jet smiled. This nurse was much nicer and, frankly, he hoped would not haunt his dreams.

"I'm glad. Is this best friend of yours… dead?" The woman looked genially sad for Jet's loss.

"No, but he's in Hell. We're not best friends anymore anyways." Jet looked down sadly at the floor.

"I'm sorry to hear that." The woman admitted and left to fetch his angel medicine. "Your name is…?"

"Oh, sorry. I'm Jet." He smiled falsely. Your name is..?"

"Oh! How rude of me!" The raven-haired woman looked very flustered. "I have forgotten how to introduce myself."

Jet nodded. "That's okay. I forgot too."

The woman smiled at Jet warmly. "My name is Ursa."

--------------------

Zuko and Katara stood in front of two large wooden doors. They had been walking and walking for hours, and they had finally reached their destination: The Hell Palace.

The two had come to an agreement that they had to eventually talk to Jet, but Zuko had his boundaries. They would not talk to the devil, see the devil, or even mention the devil's name in the palace.

Katara had mentioned that they would probably have to talk to the devil if they intended to contact Jet, and Zuko was more than hesitant. In fact, Katara had to drag Zuko by the arm all the way to the palace. If Zuko was going to contact Jet, going to the base of all evil was probably the right first step.

"This is wrong!" Zuko half-whispered to Katara. "The devil sounds like a pedophile and an evil genius! We're not talking to him at all!"

Katara just punched Zuko's arm roughly. "Drink your man-juice! All you have to do is ask to speak to Jet for a minute!"

"Who says I'm ready to confess to Jet anyway? The devil's not going to let me in because I have to talk to my ex-friend." Zuko pointed out. "He hates me! Did you read those notes?"

"Just act all teary-eyed." Katara glared at Zuko.

"He's going to molest me!" Zuko punched his fists toward the sky. "Teary eyes do _not_ work when your potential prey is a child molester!"

"Since when did you become the resident devil expert? Or a _child_? Suck it up! You're a teenager! Just ask the stupid question!" Katara jabbed Zuko's chest with her finger.

The large palace doors opened loudly, and a tiny man walked out. "The devil has been expecting you, Zuko. He would also like to meet you, Katara. Please come this way."

Gulping, the two followed the short man into the throne room.

"This is the part where you regret all of your deeds and run out." Zuko whispered, but Katara just gulped. "If we get out of here alive or un-molested, I'll kiss you."

Katara stared at Zuko for a few moments before she looked away blushing lightly. "I'm sure you will."

The man in front of them stopped walking abruptly and held is hand up. "You two are in the presence of royalty."

"More like jack-ass." Zuko whispered, but was promptly elbowed in the stomach by Katara.

"Well, well, well. Zuko and Katara, eh?" A deep chuckle resounded through the room. "You guys look so _cute_ together! Maybe you could hook up. That would be such a forbidden love!"

The Devil was a master of making people feel uncomfortable, and it was working. Both Zuko and Katara were cherry pink in the face.

"We're here to ask you a question." Zuko managed to stutter out.

"Well, you're certainly aren't doing a great job! You haven't asked one question yet!" The Devil laughed again, causing Zuko to blush darker.

"Can I talk to somebody in Heaven?" Zuko asked loudly.

The Devil just smiled evilly at his bravery. "I guess you could try. If I give you the way, will you two do something for me?"

Zuko and Katara glanced at each other.

"Will you two share the bed for a night?"

------------------

END OF CHAPTER TWELVE! This chapter almost made it to two thousand words! Be happy, because a chapter this long probably won't happen again for a while. (This could e because of my super-long author's notes this time… This one is exactly two-hundred words.)

Also, my keyboard hasn't been functioning lately. If somehow in the middle of a word there are letters missing, blame my lame (that rhymes!) spell check.

(Stabs herself) I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to leave off on, like, three cliffhangers, but I have a birthday party and sleepover I have to buy a present for and plan! Thanks for all of your suggestions, by the way. They helped a lot. I am going to buy him a video game _and_ princess pez.

Bwahahaha! I have a new poll, by the way. It's on the top of my profile page, so check it out! It's also supposed to heat up this weekend, so I am eternally grateful to Mr. Sun! Heat always makes me in a better mood, so I might not leave off on a cliffhanger next chapter.

… Who am I kidding! That's, like, my job! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! (Lays there bleeding)


	13. Chapter 13

SunSetSoItSeems: Hey guys! I had the _best_ time at guy-friend's birthday party! We played Ultimate Ninja 2 the entire time. I didn't win the tournament, but I came kind of close. I'm sure he will enjoy my princess pez. He rolled his eyes and said something like: 'That's so like you to do that!' Mission accomplished! It was okay, though, because I also gave him Avatar: Burning Earth for PS2.

I'm trying to cut down these author's notes, so I'll skip right to the rating warning (Though I don't really need it anymore…) KUDOS TO ANYONE WHO CAN CATCH ALL OF MY ANIME REFERENCES!!

Rated T: for swearing and language. Those are the same thing…

Chapter Thirteen

"I told you he was insane!" Zuko muttered as he walked out of the palace. "Then you go telling him that we _will_ share a bed for the night! What were you thinking?"

Katara frowned. "He didn't say we had to _do_ anything in the bed, as awkward as it sounds. We just have to share a bed for a night! Don't you want to go to Heaven? You have to make some sacrifices!"

"Fine, but this plan of yours to get me to Heaven better work." Zuko crossed his arms over his chest, huffing. "What kind of request was that anyways?"

"Maybe the Devil is one of those guys that read too much manga. Then, when he comes across a _real_ angsting teenage boy with a rough past and a kind, considerate, but oppositely feelinged girl that this boy hates," Katara took in a deep breath. "He feels like he has to hook them up."

"Why would someone want to hook up an angst-filled teenage boy and a 'kind, considerate' girl together?" Zuko had obviously never read any manga before.

"I'm not sure." Katara admitted. "Those people are usually a popular couple for some reason. Just for starters there's Sasuke and Sakura, Kyo and Tohru, Yuuki and Zero…"

"I don't want to know why you know that. Do men even really do that?"

Katara shrugged her shoulders, but Zuko just shook his head. "I guess you _can_ benefit from being in Hell. There's no manga down here! When did 'feelinged' become a word anyways?"

"You're talking as if you don't make up words when you have to." Katara stuck her tongue out at her future bed-sharing partner.

"I guess we don't share the exact same interests." Zuko rolled his eyes. "You're really childish, and I'm more mature."

"…Says the one who's too scared to share a bed with a girl. Are you afraid of getting cooties?" Katara teased.

"Whatever. We need to get to my house before nightfall or we won't have a chance to talk to Jet." Zuko picked up the pace.

"Why do we have to walk so much?" Katara jogged to catch up with Zuko. "Why didn't you buy a house right by the market or something?"

Zuko sighed. "You don't buy houses in Hell. You are given one by the Devil."

Katara shuddered. "That guy is creepy." The two kept walking in an uncomfortable silence, both thinking about the Devil.

Zuko, surprisingly enough, was the one to break the silence by whispering. "I don't hate you, you know."

"What?" Katara was a little shocked.

"In your manga rant, you mentioned a boy who hates the girl. I don't hate you." Zuko looked away awkwardly.

"Oh. That's good to know." Katara found much more interest in the red, dry ground than she had before.

"Look! The house!" Zuko's voice awkwardly rang through the air, breaking the dreadful silence.

"Great. Now let's just _slow down!_" Katara muttered. "You have a nasty habit of speeding up when you're not talking."

"_Sorry_." Zuko muttered to Katara. "If you wanted to take your time getting away from the Devil, by all means, just say so."

"Someone's cranky today." Katara frowned. "Just because you are more freaked out by the Devil, doesn't mean that-"

"_Just_ freaked out by the Devil?" Zuko sighed as he opened the door slowly. "That man scares me! Did you know that he put that one bed in my room on purpose?"

"How would he do it on accident?" Katara rolled her eyes. "I think you need some sleep."

Zuko nodded and began to walk up the steps leading to the bedroom. "This is so awkward. This man, the Devil, keeps on finding ways to make me have the worst time of my death down here! Why is it _me _he wants to torture so much?"

"I don't know, but you should probably get some rest. When we wake up in the morning, the way to talk to Jet will finally be revealed. Then you can go to Heaven." Katara reasoned with Zuko. She received a nod in response.

"Thanks. Good night Katara!"

Katara smiled softly. "Just climb into the bed."

The two lay as far apart as they could from one another and closed their eyes. Everything would be okay in the morning…

----------------

"Uhn!" Toph's hands gripped the cold, metal bars harshly. She had been trying for so long to bend them, but nothing seemed to be working. A soft sound outside the window caught her attention, and Toph stopped her struggle.

"Never fear, Avatarman is here!" A familiar voice called to her.

"Aang? Why are you calling yourself Avatarman? You shouldn't even be here! If my parents catch you…" Toph gulped.

"Avatarman is one of my favorite superheroes in all comic-books! He can control water, earth, fire, _and_ air! He's awesome! I'm here to rescue the fair maiden from the dark, mysterious castle!" Aang made his voice as low as he could and squared his shoulders.

"That's a nice thought, Aang, but I shouldn't run away from home." Toph smiled at his immaturity.

"Of course you're not going to run away from home!" Aang sounded shocked. "Why would I help you do that? I was wondering if you could come to Hawaii with Gyatso and me! I have an extra ticket and-"

Toph almost felt her words catch in her throat. Was Aang serious? Toph had always wanted to go to Hawaii!

"Hey, Aang? Could you take these bars off of the windows please? I just want a bit of fresh air. I feel so cramped in here!" Toph asked innocently. Aang nodded, and began to unscrew the bars with his 'Ava-screwdriver'.

"There! Now will you ask your parents?" Aang smiled back, practically beaming.

"Yeah. Meet me here in an hour and I will tell you what they said." Toph heard Aang say yes and walk away.

Her parents wouldn't even _consider_ letting her go to the island! The bars were off, though, the night was young, and what her parents didn't know couldn't hurt them.

Toph smirked dastardly. This was going all in her favor…

----------------

Katara woke up and yawned tiredly. Her arm rested against something squishy for a minute, and Katara suddenly realized what it was.

"Zuko!" Katara whisper-screamed and pulled her arm back He looked so comfortable there, in the bed, not resting on the floor. It must have been hard to sleep on the rough ground the other night. Just as soon as she began to feel guilty, Katara remembered their plan to Jet.

"Of course. The talking portal should be here by now. Where is it?" Katara had been forming an odd habit of talking to herself because of Hell. Why must she be so alone?

"Oh, yeah. I'm not. Zuko is here." Katara spoke to herself again.

Glancing around the room, Katara finally spotted what she had been looking for. The portal was resting there, on a nearby table, in the form of a mirror. It faintly resembled the mirror Katara remembered seeing in Disney's Beauty and the Beast.

Turning on her side, Katara looked at Zuko. He was still sleeping soundly, letting breaths in and out at a slow, steady pace. Katara put her arm on his shoulder to wake him up and realized something: Zuko was _warm._ It was a nice temperature to feel, but Katara knew he would be up soon.

"What?" Katara thought that this was what she heard.

"Our plan is coming along nicely." Katara smiled. "Guess what I have!"

Zuko sat up straight, now wide awake. "It's here!"

Katara blushed, wondering why Zuko thought it was necessary to sleep shirtless every night.

"Yes! Now, get up and put a shirt on!" Katara smirked as Zuko mumbled some words she couldn't/didn't want to hear.

----------------------

END OF CHAPPY THIRTEEN!!

I'm sorry that I didn't write any more, but I wasn't really in the mood. My grandfather passed away last night, so I just wanted to finish writing this chappy. I will eventually update, but I just want you to know why if I don't for a while. :(

By the way, the 666th word in this story is Devil. I'm not sure how that worked out, but it's really freaking me out.

Review?


	14. Chapter 14

SunSetSoItSeems: Hello fellows! I'm really sorry about not updating, so thank you for understanding. I was just about _bombarded_ with homework this week! My teachers are evil… HEY!!!! If I get about 14 or more reviews for this chapter, I'll have 200! OMIGOSH! The 200th reviewer will be my best friend! (Or will get a chapter dedicated to them…)

I am terribly sorry about not replying to your wondrous reviews, but I hope you understand. I also hope that you did not stop reading my story because of the 666 thing. Ha ha!

Also, should I write a Kataang one-shot or Zutara? I'm really in the mood, so please vote!

Enjoy! This chapter is dedicated to PearlBlue5 for catching my anime references. (I love I love Kyo, Sasuke, and Zero too. Yum!) Parmesan Cheese also guessed correctly, so kudos to you both!

Chapter Fourteen

Toph walked into Aang's apartment in wonder. It had a certain feel to it that made the room feel… homey. Her house was filled with a bunch of expensive items, displayed solely for her family's image of being rich. She had never really felt at home until she had decorated her bedroom walls with posters and pictures, even though she could barely see them now.

Toph was not completely blind anymore. It was amazing, but Toph could now see the faint outline of objects and their colors. Her doctors said that it may not last long, so she should enjoy the last of her sight while she could.

"I know it's not much, but…" Aang trailed off. "I like it."

"I like it, too. I also like your posters above the coffee table." Toph smirked as she gazed at about _twenty_ posters, all displaying Avatarman in his spandex-adorning glory. Aang just blushed, muttering a clear lie about Gyatso's taste in interior decorating.

"Where is Gyatso anyways?" Toph asked, glancing around the room.

"I think he went to the store for some last-minute purchases." Aang replied, glancing at a large clock on the wall. "He should be back soon. Do you want me to take your suitcases?"

Toph shook her head. "I'll just set them here…"

Aang nodded. "That's fine. Do you want something to drink?" Toph nodded and sat down on his couch. It was a nice shade of green, and matched the tan carpet well.

"Even the carpet looks nice and homey." Toph muttered, glaring at her fingernails. "Why is my house so lame?"

"Is lemonade fine?" Aang called from the kitchen.

"Perfect!" Toph called back and stood up. Was that… _her_ on the wall? As she trotted over to the opposite wall, her suspicions were confirmed. A large piece of corkboard was hanging from the wall and hundreds of pictures had been placed on it. As Toph studied the pictures closer, she noticed that most of them were of Aang and Katara. Only a few were of him and Gyatso, and even less were of Aang and herself.

A small tinge of jealousy bubbled up in her chest, but she ignored it. Why should she be jealous of some dead girl? The jealousy was replaced by guilt, though, as Toph realized what she was thinking. It wasn't right to think badly of the deceased!

"Toph! I have our…" Aang stopped short. "Oh. Um, Gyatso did that." He added, blushing ferociously.

"Gyatso sure has interesting taste." Toph rolled her eyes, clearly not falling for his lame accusation.

"Well, have some lemonade." Aang changed the subject quickly. "Gyatso made it himself."

Toph giggled as Aang beamed with pride. "Gyatso must be _some guy_! He hangs up posters of Avatarman, and makes collages of you with different friends."

Aang fumed playfully. "Stop making fun of me! Avatarman is my hero!"

Aang plopped down on the couch, and Toph was close to follow.

"Who's your hero?" Aang inquired curiously. "Is it a superhero or…"

"Well," Toph began blushing. "I have never really had a hero. I suppose you're the closest thing I've had to one… Thanks for inviting me to Hawaii. My parents would never let me."

Aang looked confused. "But you asked your parents, right? They are letting you!"

Toph suddenly realized her mistake and started laughing nervously. "Of course! Uh, I was just saying that they would never let me go alone and I wouldn't really want to go with them…"

Aang was only more confused, and the two fell into an awkward silence. Aang took this moment to check the time yet again, and Toph just twirled a lock o her dark hair around her finger.

"Am I really your hero?" Aang asked again, a faint trace of red visible on his cheeks.

"Yeah." Toph's cheeks were becoming rosy too. Aang just smiled, trying to cover his redness.

Aang gulped nervously and finally began to speak. "Toph, I think that-"

"Fear not, children! I have returned, and I have brought the _groceries!_" An elderly voice called from behind the doorframe. "I would appreciate some help, though. My jointal regions are killing me."

Toph laughed. _Jointal regions?_ _How old is this guy?_

Aang joined in with his own childish laughter. "Coming, Gyatso."

With that, Aang grabbed Toph's hand, and the two blushed during the whole walk to Gyatso's car.

------------------

As soon as Zuko had put on his shirt, Katara grabbed the portal mirror and gazed at it more carefully.

"I guess we just speak to it. Say hello, or something." Katara turned to Zuko.

"I'm not just going to say hello to some random object." Zuko frowned. Apparently that idea was scoff-worthy.

"Just do it." Katara said icily. Zuko frowned, but agreed.

"Hello, inanimate object." He drawled, clearly not interested. Surprisingly enough, the mirror clouded over and a voice responded.

"As rude as that was, hello."

Zuko practically fell of the bed, and Katara couldn't help but laugh at him. "Told you so!"

"It's not funny! That thing just talked! Doesn't that even _frighten_ you remotely?" Zuko whisper-yelled, pointing at the portal jerkily.

"Didn't your parents ever tell you that pointing is rude?" The mirror taunted and the cloudy twirling continued.

"I'm sorry if I had a deprived childhood. Just let us talk to someone." Zuko glared at the mirror, strangely hating this portal with a fiery passion.

"Sure. Talk to anyone you want in Heaven!" The mirror chanted, and the twirling stopped, clearing the fog away.

The words had meant nothing to Zuko a second ago, but when he really thought about it… _Anyone… in Heaven… _The voice spoke to him, repeating in his head, Suddenly, Zuko was overcome with an odd feeling of longing.

"An-anyone in Heaven?" He stuttered on the first word, but recovered quickly.

"Yes." The portal repeated. "_Anyone._"

Katara glared at Zuko. What was he doing! Why wouldn't he just say 'Sure, okay then! I would like to speak to Jet to I can go to Heaven and fulfill my dream!'

"Zuko," Katara warned. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." It was the truth, because right now Zuko wasn't saying anything to the portal.

"Exactly!" Katara hissed. "Say you want to speak to Jet!"

Zuko looked at the mirror in thought. Why couldn't he just say he wanted to talk to Jet? Was there some part of his mind that had not wanted Jet to go to Heaven or something? Zuko finally spoke.

"I would like to speak to Ursa."

----------------

Jet sat on his hospital bed, not really having the time of his life. First of all, this Ursa chick looked familiar. Jet was sure that he hadn't seen her before, but her image still haunted him. That Ju Dee chick was also quite scary. Whenever he asked for something to rink, she would say something about 'there are drinks in Heaven!' It annoyed the _heck_ out of him! _Of course_ there were drinks in Heaven.

Maybe that girl was so used to saying 'there is no _blah __blah__blah_', that she decided to do the same for 'there is _blah __blah__blah_'.

Jet was more than relieved when Ursa took over her shift. She was in the middle of giving him a meal when something strange happened. A blue light flickered, and all of a sudden a face appeared.

Jet recognized it easily. "Zuko?"

Ursa seemed shocked at this."ZUKO?!"

Zuko just smiled weakly back, looking about ready to cry. "Mom!"

------------------

… because you all know that if Zuko saw his mom he would break down into hysterics and attack her with love.

END OF CHAPTER FOURTEEN!!!

I apologize for the shortness. Most of this was done while I listened to the most amazing song ever, Secret Valentine by We the Kings! I highly recommend it to everybody. :)

I had to do a half-cliffhanger. I'm sorry, but it had to be done. It's not even that bad! Have fun waiting for the next chapter!! (I didn't rant this time. HA!)

Review:)


	15. Chapter 15

SunSetSoItSeems: Hello! So I was thinking… and I realized that I never told you who the devil was. I know it's going to be intense, but try to control your excitement (just kidding)! The devil is…

BEOWULF!!! Haha! Just kidding. That movie grossed the heck out of me, though. Ew…

I just realized that this story would make a pretty kick ass comic, but I lack any drawing skillz, so I won't even be able to make a scene. That would be pretty sweet, though. I'll just have to practice… Avatarman would be pretty sweet looking also. Haha! Aang in spandex… actually, that's pretty disturbing.

OH! Paleflower and I were just in the school Treasure Island! We rocked hardcore. I'm serious! We were pretty freaking amazing.

If you guys haven't given up on me yet, I am willing to start the story!

This chapter is dedicated to Tigerlily for being my 200th reviewer! Also to KIDFLASHyewowemeasoda (your new name is so hard to type! Change it back! :( ) because I don't want to be punched.

Chapter Fifteen

Katara felt an urge to smack Zuko across the face. What was he thinking? Why wasn't he responding?

"I would like to speak to Ursa." He finally responded. Had Katara had any water in her mouth, she wouldn't have anymore.

"WHAT? NO!" Katara tried to scream, but it was too late. The portal had already begun shifting colors, and a faint purple cloud was beginning to form around the edges. As the mist finally cleared up, a beautiful black-haired woman appeared in the mirror. She didn't appear to recognize him at all.

"Zuko?" A voice called from behind Ursa, and Katara recognized this as Jet. Of all the luck! Somehow, Zuko had managed to call upon the two people he had wanted to talk to _in the same room!_

"ZUKO?" The woman appeared severely shocked and stepped back a few paces.

As Katara glanced at Zuko, she could have sworn that she saw tears starting to fill his eyes. Since when had he become emotional? Why was he almost crying?

"Mom!"

Oh. Katara felt guilty. _That's why he wanted to talk to her!_ She figured out.

"Zuko? Is that you?" Ursa whispered quietly. "I don't believe it… where are you?"

"_That's_ why she looked familiar!" Jet smacked his head against the wall. Katara winced.

Zuko looked obviously nervous about telling his mom that he was in Hell. "Uh, it's a long story." Avoiding the question was probably the best solution.

Now Ursa looked like the one who was about to cry. "How have you been? Who is that next to you?"

Katara gulped and frowned. She hadn't realized that she could be seen by the others.

"Uh, I'm Katara." She let out nervously. The woman nodded while trying not to cry.

"That's a beautiful name." Katara smiled politely, but looked at Zuko worriedly. If he was going to talk to Jet, he was going to have to say it in front of his mother. He obviously respected her opinion greatly, and Katara couldn't help but feel bad for him. If she had tried to tell her dad that she was in Hell, it would have ended in tears.

"Look, mom, I know that you're a little surprised as it is, but can I please talk to Jet?" He finally spoke.

Ursa nodded and glanced at the boy in the hospital bed, waiting for him to continue speaking.

"Actually, I was thinking about talking alone…" He muttered, looking away nervously.

Ursa looked shocked but complied. The dark-haired woman walked straight into another room, but stayed near.

"Look, Jet…" Zuko started, but realized that he didn't know where he was going with his sentence.

"Zuko, I don't know if you know why I'm in Heaven." Jet sighed but looked his old friend in the eye.

"Actually, Katara saw you confessing to me at Lake Laogai. I guess I just have to confess everything to the people I did wrong to, and I'll go up here." Zuko's eyes connected with Jet's. It felt so strange to not be glaring at his enemy and former friend.

"Katara saw me?" Jet's face paled slightly, but was soon overtaken with a pink tinge. He started rubbing the back of his neck as if the redness would suddenly disappear. "That's awkward."

Katara found herself doing the same. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have listened but you were right there at the lake and I…"

"It's fine." Jet's complexion finally returned to normal.

"Okay, Jet. I'm sorry for… well… everything that I did to you. I know I shouldn't have, but…" Zuko wasn't great at expressing his emotions, and it was beginning to show. "I'm just really sorry."

A great wave of relief poured through Zuko's body. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off of his chest.

"Phew." He muttered. "Now I just have to find a way to get out of Hell."

A clatter filled the air as a bottle of pills collided with the floor. A gasp of surprise and shock escaped Ursa's lips as she leaned against the door. Did Zuko say what she just thought he had said? Was he… Ursa bit her trembling lip. How had her son ended up down below?

"What was that?" She heard the voice she recognized as Jet's and stopped to breathe evenly.

"Sorry. I just dropped a bottle." She said calmly and kept her cool. She heard a sigh of relief from her son. Why hadn't he told her? Was he afraid of how she would respond?

Suddenly a gasp of surprise came from the other room. Ursa rushed in to see the portal slowly closing, cutting off all communication between the pairs.

Zuko's face disappeared, but she faintly heard an 'I love you mom' before the portal had vanished completely.

----------------

As Aang and Toph brought in the groceries, Gyatso was explaining what he did in life.

"I'm a pharmacist at the local CVS. I work there most of the time." He clarified.

Aang nodded eagerly. "Tell her the _cool _part."

"I also used to work with a fortune teller: Madame Wu. She taught me all sorts of cool stuff like card tricks, reading palms and dreams-"

Toph gasped. "You can read dreams?"

Aang nodded quickly. "He can tell you what they mean. It's awesome! He read one of mine about "

Toph stopped walking as quickly, thinking about her dream from before. The one with Jet in it. Why had all of that happened? Was there some sort of spiritual reason for whatever took place in that dream?

"Uh, could you read one of mine?" She asked innocently. "Would that be alright?"

"I guess…" Gyatso nodded. "When we're on the plane to Hawaii I'll do it. Let's just get everything together. I'm glad your parents let you do this!"

Toph smiled, trying to keep her façade in check.

"Yeah. That would be awesome!"

----------------

Jet started at the door doubtingly. Had Zuko's mom _really_ dropped those pills just a second after he said that he was in Hell? Zuko had always talked about his mom being adventurous, so eavesdropping would not be surprising. If she was crying, she most likely heard what Zuko had said.

"Uh, can I have something to drink?" Jet called out, pretending to sound too sick to get up.

"Of course." The voice called from the other side. Unfortunately, it was not Ursa who had responded. It was Miss Never-faltering-smile herself: Ju Dee.

Jet sighed hopelessly. He would just have to talk it out of her when she came back. Where _had_ she gone anyway?

Ju Dee came back with his soda in her hands.

"Uh, where did the other nurse go?" He asked politely. Ju Deejust shook her head.

"I believe that she left the hospital. You should be able to too in a few days!" She exclaimed, smiling brightly.

Jet sighed and diverted his eyes. If his smile was as bright as a lamp, Ju Dee's was a freaking _beacon_. This also meant that he would have a chance to explore Heaven soon, though. Unfortunately, this also meant that he did not have as much time to get the information he wanted out of Ursa. Why did he care so much about it, anyway?

He didn't still like Zuko, right?

----------------

End of chappy! Yay!

Gah, this day was _horrible!_

First, when I woke up, I found out that it was below zero. Then my dad left the house, and I began to make those awful tear-the-pack-and-have-fake-crappy-oatmeal things. I poured it my bowl, but I poured _way_ too much water in. Like the whole teapot. I had to then pour it all out, but I was running late, so I had no breakfast.

I had gotten up early to go to this band thing at my school, so I went in the cold. It turns out that my band teacher was sick that day. Oops! Finally, it was first period. It doesn't stop there, though. It turns out that I forgot my homework folder at home! It had all of my papers, homework, and other stuff I need for _every class_. GAH! So, that was my incredible day.

I decided to update so I would feel better. Every time I get a review, it makes my life so feel free to review! Of course, the way today's going, I'll get 20 flames or the internet will be down.

:) Review?

I'll just think about how cool Avatarman would look if I could draw… Oh, life.


	16. Chapter 16

SunSetSoItSeems: Hey everybody! I can't even believe that it's chapter sixteen already! Oh goodness! I can't believe I have 43 alerts and 30 favorites! So cool! You guys truly are the best. This story was originally going to be a Teen Titans one, but I waited a few years before I made an account, and then _bam_! Crackerrrr x Natashaa (I refuse to type your new long name) showed me an episode of Avatar. It works much better this way…

I still love Teen Titans, though. What is it with me and these cartoons? I think I have a strange obsession. I _really_ wish that they made a 6th season… (Agree with me here, Tasha.)Beast Boy and Raven hadn't hooked up yet! Kid Falsh and Jinx had yet to kiss! GAH! (Don't punch me Natasha: Beast Boy and Raven forever!)

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, or else it would not be on Nick. Zuko and Katara would hook up, Kid Flash and Jinx would be minor characters, and there would be _no plot left_. Which might be why I don't own it?

I'm too lackadaisical to do the 'rated t' thing. You know you miss it though! I should hope you know by now anyway.

GAH! Here is the chapter:

Chapter Sixteen

It had been a week in Hell since Zuko had confessed to Jet, and there was still no sign of any heavenly light or fiendish card. Zuko was beginning to think that it had all been a scam when Katara began to speak.

"Zuko, I don't think you've confessed to everybody yet. There are still some people that I'm sure you would have to talk to. Here: let's make a list."

Zuko rolled his eyes but conformed. If he was going to make it up to Heaven, he was going to have to make some sacrifices. The frustrated teen quickly snatched a drawer's handle and pulled it open. A pad of paper and a pen quickly made its way into his hand.

Katara grabbed the ballpoint and started to scribble her list.

_Zuko's List of People He Has To Confess to before he can get into Heaven:_

_Jet (mission accomplished!)_

_Ozai: his father (Too scared to yet.)_

_His mother maybe?_

_The person whom he murdered (I will find out soon…)_

_The Devil for being rude in his presence._

_Me for being bad-mannered, uncouth, and discourteous at the beginning._

Zuko just shook his head. "I'm sure that being rude to the devil can be overlooked. The one about you can be crossed out, too. Since I already apologized to Jet, you might as well cross that one off also."

Katara frowned as she crossed out each of the names. That was almost half of her list! Actually, it was exactly half.

"I resent that bad mannered comment." Zuko pitched in. "I believe that I was pretty good at being nice."

"I noticed that you didn't say anything about being uncouth or discourteous." Katara glared at the much smaller list. "This sucks! We don't have much of a list anymore. I guess that could be a good thing though…"

"This way it's a whole lot less work." Zuko pointed out. "That's always a good thing."

Katara gave in. "I guess so… At the moment, then, we just have to talk to the portal and speak to your mom!"

Zuko groaned. "How about _you_ speak to it this time. It isn't very nice to me."

"That's because you were rude to it from the beginning. Just try to be nicer and it will all turn out alright." Katara rolled her eyes at his immaturity.

"I'm not talking to it. I'm serious!" Katara just shook her head.

"You're impossible, Zuko."

Zuko glanced at the mirror and then back to Katara. He was pretty sure that people were not supposed to be able to sound that much like a lion.

"Fine! I'll talk to it if you give me-"

Zuko was cut off by a _poof_ and a pretty blue cloud. The portal had disappeared!

Katara gaped at the scene. "Did you just see that?"

"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure that it said 'good riddance' just before it disappeared." Zuko couldn't help but gawk also.

"I swear- if I have to talk the devil into getting _another one_ just because of this homicidal, rabid portal I will…"

Katara slapped Zuko upside the head. "I'm decently sure that mirrors cannot become rabid, and _when the heck did this portal become homicidal?"_

Zuko shrugged and squintedorbs in mock thought. "Hm, I don't know. Maybe when it tried to _scare me half to death by disappearing so quickly!_"

"Just because you're a sissy doesn't mean that a mirror is murderous." Katara thought about her sentence. "That's awkward."

"Whatever." Grumbled Zuko. "This means that I have to go see the devil again. You're coming with me, by the way. What worries me, though, is what he'll make us do before we can get the portal."

"Yeah, but…" Katara couldn't think of anything to make him feel better. It was hard when she had to be part of the punishment, too.

"See? Like you said before, _this sucks_." Zuko moaned and buried his face in a pillow. "We'll talk to him tomorrow. I know that we just woke up, but I'm…"

"… A coward." Katara finished for him. "We're going to see him _now_." Katara decided that I she was going to take charge ever, this was the best time.

"Plus," She continued. "We should leave as much time as possible to confess to everybody. I don't have any idea of how much time I have left but…"

"Two and a half weeks." Zuko corrected. "You've been here for one and a half so far."

The statement hit Katara like a ton of bricks. Had she really been here for almost half of a month? In a few days, she would be halfway done with her time in Hell!

"That means that we have to get to the Devil quickly." Katara recovered herself hastily. Why was she so upset about leaving Hell? Wouldn't she get to see her mother and brother again?

Katara grabbed Zuko's hand and dragged him out of their- _her _bed. As soon as Zuko was fully clothed, the two stepped outside to begin their long track to see ultimate evil.

Katara found that it was much easier to walk everywhere once she had been in Hell for a while. Would the same thing happen in Heaven, or would she be able to fly? The thought made her fingers twitch.

"I can't believe we're here again." Zuko groaned, staring up at the large palace that the Devil had made his own.

"Look, Katara, I know that it's strange to talk about it now, but number four on your list…" Zuko held the front door open for her like the gentleman he attempted to be. "It's going to be kind of strange. I have a confession to make."

Katara was confused. "What is it?"

"Well…" Zuko scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I…" Zuko stopped short.

A deep voice called from behind the pair. "Don't stop on my account. Please, confess your love to the girl."

Zuko turned beet red. "That wasn't what I was going to do!"

The Devil appeared in front of them now. "You guys don't look too happy to see me. That's not very nice… I'm actually pretty kind when you get to know me."

"You're the freaking Devil!" Zuko exclaimed. "You're not nice! And if you think that I'm going to be near you long enough to get to know you…"

"Zuko! Calm down." Katara nudged Zuko harshly."Just chill out."

"She's right, Zuko." The Devil smirked. "Just _relax_. If it wasn't my company you wanted today, what did you come here for?"

Zuko scoffed. "Why should I tell you? It was Katara's idea."

Katara elbowed the poor boy in the gut again. "We need another portal. Please?"

The Devil smirked. "It's okay. Come in! I already know what I'm going to make you two do this time."

The pair gulped and stepped into the Devil's room.

----------------

END OF CHAPTER!

Hey! Sorry for the delay!

REVIEW!


	17. Chapter 17

SunSetSoItSeems: Hey everybody! I was kind of in a rush to post my last chapter, so that's why it was shorter and had nothing about Toph and Aang. I'm really sorry about the long delay, but I was swamped with homework (and I watched 25 episodes of Ouran High School Host Club…)!

I'm really remorseful about the cliffhangers, but it's almost as if I've forgotten how to end a chapter without doing one! I'll try not to do one, but I won't get in my daily-dose-of-torture if I don't. I'll just start the chapter with Toph and Aang to (torture you) spice things up a bit.

I think I'm cursed, by the way. I was playing Super Mario Galaxy on Wii, and my star-bit count is now 4,666! Again with all of this 666 stuff!

Here goes it!

Chapter Seventeen

Toph and Aang had seats near the very back of the plane. Toph wasn't used to being in the so-called 'cheap seats', but Aang wasn't as blessed money wise as Toph. What made Toph uncomfortable, though, was the large intimidating man that was seated to her left. He kept glancing at her, and then at the man who was seated to _his_ left.

"Are you having fun yet?" Aang quipped. "I heard that the flight is supposed to be long. Can I wait that long? Toph?"

The said girl groaned and shook her head back and forth. "We're on a plane, waiting to go to one of the hottest places on earth. Not that I mind, of course. Hawaii will be just fine. This plane is so… restraining. That's all."

"Also…" Toph continued. She quietly cupped her hand around her lips and leaned in nearer to Aang's ear.

"To-oph?" Aang stuttered nervously. "What are you…?"

"I think that guy's a stalker." Toph whispered, pulling away and leaning back casually.

Aang blushed "What are you talking about? Why do you think he's…?"

"He keeps glancing over at me, and then at some guy. I think that they're partners… _in crime_!" Toph paused to add dramatic effect. Aang just smiled and shook his head.

"That's highly doubtful. He does kind of look like a thug, though. He's so… _big_. He's like a rock." Aang rubbed his imaginary beard trying to think of a criminal name for him.

"Yeah. He's like the human boulder!" Toph giggled, whispering to her friend.

Aang laughed and nodded in agreement. "The Boulder!"

The two began to laugh hysterically, drawing in the attention of almost everybody seated in the back seats of the plane.

"Keep it down, Aang-y and Toph. The plane hasn't even taken off yet!" Gyatso called from a row ahead. The Boulder seemed to like this information.

"Great, Aang. Now he knows my name." Toph mumbled. "How unfortunate."

"Oh please, Toph. He's probably not actually a stalker." Aang reassured. Toph was not convinced.

The two sat in silence, carefully glancing at the boulder every so often, and the plane finally took off.

_An hour later…_

Aang was listening to his I-pod while Toph stared at her hands, completely bored. Aang seemed to notice this and took the initiative.

"You want to listen?" He asked casually, offering an ear-bud to his lackadaisical friend.

_Well, something's better than nothing…_ Toph thought and accepted his token with much gratitude.

Gyatso glanced back at the two to make sure that they were doing fine. Toph looked like she was sleeping on Aang's shoulder while Aang was closing his eyes, grinning like a hyena. Gyatso just smiled sadly and shook his head.

He had been worried about Aang since Katara died. The two had a greater bond than Aang had ever had with anyone before, and Gyatso had been sure that Aang would have to be picked up by somebody after the accident. Sure enough, Aang _had_ been picked up by somebody.

Gyatso had just always thought that it would be him.

--------------

Katara and Zuko waited in dreadful anticipation for their punishment to be voiced.

"Well…" The Devil scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I'm not _that_ evil."

"Like _hell _you…" Katara cut off Zuko quickly.

"We'll accept anything. Just _please_ don't do anything… _too_…" Katara trailed off and then laughed nervously.

"What was the point of that sentence? You basically said that we'd do anything, except that we wouldn't do anything too sca…"

Katara smacked the poor boy on the shoulder. He was clearly losing his mind down here. He was in desperate need of Heaven. "Have some decency!"

"I'm not the one that you should be smacking around here. And don't even start on decency when the clear indecent one is…"

"Zuko!" Katara sighed, getting quite annoyed. "I'm not going to let you finish a sentence until you think before speaking. Geese!"

"Whatever." He mumbled, almost happy to have finished a sentence.

"What do we have to do?" Katara asked, becoming slightly nervous.

The devil seemed to be enjoying their nervous anticipation. If he could smirk wider, he would have.

"Well…" Katara had a gut feeling that whatever he was about to say would be something dreadful. "You two will…"

Zuko held his breath.

"You two will have to eat dinner together."

Katara coughed loudly as Zuko let his breath out hastily.

"That's it? That's what Katara was spazzing about?" Zuko gaped. "That's nothing!"

"Then shut up before he reconsiders." Katara nudged him roughly, clearly not pleased about being called a spaz.

"I'm afraid that you two don't understand. When I say that, I mean it in the most romantic way properly. I will be supervising your proper date!" The devil giggled like a school girl, causing a mysterious twitch in a certain teen's eye.

"Like a _date_ date?" The said teenager breathed, motioning to Katara. "She's hardly dating material!"

"Excuse _me!_" Katara gasped, quite offended "Like you've ever been on a date in your life!"

"When I was alive I did." Zuko frowned. "Her name was Jin."

"I don't care about your romantic aspirations with this 'Jin' chick." Katara jabbed her finger at his chest.

"Calm down, love-birds." The devil said, and Zuko instantly regretted thinking the devil reminded him of his uncle.

"Save the flirting for your date."

Katara turned around huffing. "You are seriously messed up. Zuko is hardly a gentleman, and could not ever be a good boyfriend."

"Says the girl who's never been asked out before." Zuko rolled his eyes.

"I've been asked out." Katara pointed out.

"Oh yeah? In what. Kindergarten?" He taunted back.

"No." Katara muttered. "I got asked out, but then I got hit by a car."

Zuko looked away. "That's awkward."

The devil smirked deviously. "You two should dress up nicely, now. Separate rooms for changing, though!"

"Our date is _now_?" Katara and Zuko yelled in unison. "Seriously?"

"Yes. Now go with my order or I'll take back by last statement…"

The two quickly rushed off to where a few servants were waiting with their clothes.

"What's up with him and hooking us up?" Zuko grumbled, clearly annoyed at being set up.

"He _is_ the Devil, after all." Katara muttered. "What do you expect?"

"I resent that!" A booming voice called from behind them, but the pair just rolled their eyes.

----------------

"Why are you doing this?" A voice called from behind the Devil. "I know who you really are."

The Devil sighed. "So I'm impersonating the Devil. What of it? Zuko has to learn his lesson!"

The man stepped out and flashed his gleaming amber eyes in the 'devil's' direction.

"This isn't about Zuko learning his lesson. You want him to be happy!" The stranger called out. "You're planning on setting them up."

"What do you mean?" The devil's impersonator questioned, but it was clearly faked. "Oh! You mean the _date?_"

"Yes." The stranger glared daggers. "What are you up to?"

"It's not me you should be worried about. What are _you_ up to?"

The stranger smirked malevolently. "Oh, I think that you know what I'm up to, Lu Ten."

Lu Ten glared at his intruder. "No, I don't. Tell me, Ozai."

----------------

Oh my! How evil am I? I should probably stop with all of these cliffhangers, but what else can I do to entertain myself while KIDFLASHyewowemeasoda isn't here, and my beta is at college?

OH! I was looking at all of the genres I could put stories in, and the two that caught my attention were the 'parody' and 'western'. Those are never used!

So who's in favor of a western parody of the Zhao x Zuko fight in season one?

(Raises hand…)

REVIEW! Please..?


	18. Chapter 18

SunSetSoItSeems: Uh, hello! GAH! I'm really sorry about the delay, but first it was my ice-skating practices, then it was softball, after that was homework overload, and now it's _finally_ spring break! Happy Easter! Since I now have no excuse (besides the fact that I'm sick… I hate life…) here's a new chapter!

ALOHA 10,000 HITS!! (Thanks so much!) Now I have to break 50 alerts… 5 more to go…

Rating: T for… teenage themes! Yeah! (A break has renewed my genius! Yeah!)

Dedicated to the people who have waited patiently (and I guess the ones who haven't…) for this new chapter to be written! I am really sorry! Hopefully, my teachers will be merciful and not give me as much work anymore.

Here it is:

Chapter Eighteen

Toph woke up to a familiar beeping sound. As she extended her arm to reach for the snooze button, she promptly smacked a nose.

Wait a second…

"Oops." She squeaked. Her gaze was met by the infamous 'boulder'.

"My nose is not a punching bag." He grumbled, rubbing his nose furiously.

"Sorry. I heard this beep and thought it was my alarm clock…"

"That would be the 'seatbelts-on' noise." The boulder was _not_ a happy camper. Sure enough, though, the light was flashing up above her.

"Darn…" Toph rubbed her eyes groggily.

"No, that's good!" Piped up Aang for the first time since Toph's awakening. "It means we're landing soon!"

"Oh…" Toph was actually… _really _happy now. Elated, even! She couldn't see well, and this meant something for sure: Earth!

"Yeah. I can't wait to see a volcano!" Aang was practically jumping up and down in his seat. "This is super exciting!"

"Oh, please." Toph rolled her eyes at his childishness. "You sound like a little girl."

"Aren't _you_ excited? This is going to be awesome!" Aang squealed.



A cart with the last of the coffee was wheeled by to be secured for landing, and Toph made sure that Aang didn't grab a cup to drink. He was hyper enough already! It was then that Toph noticed that the 'boulder' didn't have his seatbelt on.

"Hey, guy, you can't just not have your belt on. It's dangerous!" She scolded immediately.

"Look here, missy." He hissed back, gritting his teeth in a particularly frightening way. "I'm a professional wrestler! Don't tell me what to do! Haven't you ever heard of The Boulder?"

Had Aang not been trying unsuccessfully to hold back reels of laughter, he would have yelled at the man for calling Toph 'missy'. It almost sounded… playful! How disgusting for such a man to be thinking of playing. Was he playing a _trick_ on the two kids? Did he get a kick out of seeing two middle-schoolers struggle?

"Trix are for kids!" He yelled out awkwardly, and could feel twenty or so pairs of eyes, along with Toph's, on him.

"Er, baldy, what are you talking about?" The, newly proclaimed, Boulder scratched his head, clearly confused.

"I'm not sure myself…" Toph looked at Aang trying to figure out what exactly he meant.

"I'm actually…"

Aang was cut off by an announcement from the crew that the plane would be landing shortly.

"Finally…" Aang sounded more excited than upset.

"Hey, Gyatso!" Toph called. Gyatso either was too absorbed in his 'People Style Watch' magazine to respond, or had not heard her.

"How strange…" She muttered to herself, but quickly got over it. The plane was going to land shortly, and she still had to plan the perfect moment to grab Aang's hand in 'fright'.

Zuko tugged at his tie awkwardly, wondering _why in the world_ the Devil cared about his social life.

The girl wasn't even that special, either. Okay, she was an Angel from Heaven (literally, not figuratively). She was also kind of nice… but none of that mattered! Of course the only point was getting what he wanted: the portal. It was important! Going to Heaven meant more to him than his pride did, so he would risk it to go there.

He might even kiss Katara if it meant getting a less… _talkative_ portal.

Of course, that was only under those circumstances.



"Zuko!" He heard a voice call him, and realized it was Katara. Of course, she did look _sort of _pretty in her dress- but he would never kiss her! Never!

The Devil had set up a nice little table for the two of them. Fit for a real couple!

"Although I don't know why he did this… It looks rather nice." Katara commented. Zuko nodded, agreeing completely

"You look… nice." Zuko instantly regretted the awkward sentence as soon as it came out of his mouth, but Katara didn't seem to mind.

"Thanks! Now let's just finish this date so we can get that portal. I have to leave in less than a month."

Zuko nodded. It was best to get this over quickly, but how would they end it quickly? Eating their food quickly would minimize the general length, but what about after that?

"Who knows?" Zuko muttered to himself, only to gaze upon a rather confused looking Katara.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, but then gave up. With Zuko, sometimes you were just left confused.

"You talk to yourself, too?" Katara sat down in her seat across from Zuko. Maybe they would be able to get their food quicker if they sat down.

"Oh. Yeah." Zuko blushed lightly. As soon as he was about to add something, a waiter came out of a door with a giant tray of food.

"Holy crap." Zuko gaped. How were they supposed to eat so much food?

"At least we won't be hungry…" Katara muttered, still taking in the enormity of the platter.

"Your dinner, my darlings." The waiter responded in a thick French accent.

While Katara tried some of her French vocabulary on the poor man, Zuko decided to try one of the dishes the waiter had brought out. The first plate was a sandwich with tomatoes and turkey, and it looked delicious. Zuko sniffed it, and found no reason to not eat it.

"What were you doing?" Katara looked appauled. "Did you just _sniff_ the food?"

"It was from the Devil!" Zuko said in his defense. "You never know what's poisoned…"

"Actually…" Katara scratched her chin. "Haven't you wondered about this 'Devil'? He doesn't seems very evil to me…"

"I guess…" Zuko responded, but then thought about it a little more. "He was pretty nice to me back there. He seems different from the ma I first met while down in the palace."

"Maybe he's a lackey." Katara suggested, while clearing her plate. "Or a kind civilian in disguise."



"Why would the Devil let a 'kind civilian' take his place?" Zuko questioned.

"Well…" Katara snapped her fingers in realization. "He wanted to be more popular with the residents!"

"Oh, what a great bunch of friends _he_ would have." Zuko rolled his eyes. "If I ever make more friends, I hope they're all murderers and sinners, too."

"Your sarcasm is ruining our date." Katara pointed out.

"It's not a _real_ date." Zuko countered. "I'm pretty sure we could hurry this up, too."

"Maybe I don't want to." Katara said, but then quickly recovered.

"Maybe I don't want to get a stomach ache, I mean."

The words came out rushed, but Zuko was oblivious to her mistake. "Fine. Eat as slow as you want. I just want to get that portal…"

Katara nodded and began to eat another helping of soup.

"But don't eat that much or _I'm_ going to get a stomach ache."

"Shut up you baby." Katara laughed and slowed down even more. If she could make this last longer, then maybe she could find out who he killed…

END OF CHAPPY!

YAY! Sorry about the delay again. I'm just such a lackadaisical person…

IN all of your reviews, I expect a 'Welcome Sunset' song. Just kidding! If you do, I might start singing…. And that's never good…

To all you that have (unfortunately) watched Eragon the movie, I had to restrain myself to not put 'You look… fit for battle!' in there.

REAVIEW!! :)


	19. Chapter 19

SunSetSoItSeems: Greetings! Ciao (I think that means hello…)! I'm glad (some) people didn't forget about my story. I'm really sorry about that delay but I was _so_ busy those weeks. I actually _do _have a liable excuse. My laptop cord overheated! I couldn't use my cord for quite some time. That's why I couldn't update. Also, I was staying at a hotel and the Wi-Fi there _sucked_.

Without further hesitation, _the next chappy!!_

This chappy is dedicated to my Beta/sister who said that she would loan me her _Jack's Mannequin_ shirt when she gets back from college.

Here goes it:

Chapter Nineteen

A sudden feeling of nausea overcame Toph as she walked carefully off of the plane. As she felt the platform beneath her feet, though, she felt better.

"I could kiss the ground!" Toph mumbled to Aang who looked as if he agreed.

"As much as I love traveling, planes are not my favorite way of getting there." He looked pretty queasy himself.

"You were fine for the first part of the ride. You just _had _to look out of the window…" Toph rolled her eyes. As much as she hated heights, she had also glanced below. As long as her eyesight was okay Toph was going to enjoy every speck of color she could.

Gyatso led the pair to the luggage carrier where they waited impatiently for their things.

"Excuse me." A pair of large hands reached between Aang and Toph, successfully reaching his suitcase by knocking over Toph in the process.

"Hey!" Aang called out.

"The Boulder does not like little children!" Aang groaned inwardly. Or at least he thought he did.

"The Boulder also does not like little children mocking him!" Toph got up quickly and dusted off her pants.

"Kids! Get over here." Gyatso called to them. The two grudgingly walked over to Aang's guardian.

"I don't want you talking to strangers. Especially you, Aang. You know what happened last time…"

The blush on Aang's face made it apparent that he indeed _did_ remember.

"What happened last time?" Toph smirked at her friend. Aang might have been nice, but nothing was better than embarrassing him.



" Aang was walking in a park one day, and a man in a truck called over to him." Gyatso explained. "He offered Aang some candy if he went over there, and Aang foolishly accepted. The man then tried to kidnap him, but I heard his call for help and rescued him."

Toph glanced at Gyatso's proud face, and then at Aang's bright red one.

"Geese, Aang." Toph scolded. "How old were you? _Five?"_

"Yeah." Aang replied.

"Don't let him fool you, Toph. This was last year." Gyatso whispered. This sent her into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

"GYATSO?!" Aang looked betrayed. This just seemed to make Toph laugh harder.

After quite a bit of waiting, their suitcases finally arrived.

"Whoa." Aang and Toph exclaimed in unison. Outside of the walls of the airport was something surprisingly beautiful:

_Hawaii!_

(Or in Aang's mind, _Toph._)

XxxxXxxxX

Zuko and Katara were also having quite a bit of fun.

Katara was shocked by how much useless information Zuko could fit in his head. Almost all of the words that came out of Zuko's mouth were a proverb. Actually, whenever she asked him something that would tell her more about him, he answered with some sort of riddle.

It annoyed the _hell_ out of Katara. Well, considering she was still in Hell, it could be said that it hadn't.

"So…" Began Katara. "Who did you kill?"

Zuko nearly choked on his food. "That was sudden."

"Yeah. Now answer!" Katara glared. He wasn't going to get out of this one…

"Subtlety isn't _your _middle name it would seem." Zuko glowered.

"You're right. My middle name is Anne. What's yours?" Katara smiled brightly.

"I'm not telling. Anne's cool…" Zuko trailed off, slightly interested and slightly nervous.

"Yes it is. In exchange for that great fact, I demand that you repay me. Answer my question."

"What question?" Zuko looked for a way to get around this. Why was she so interested?



"You know what question I mean." Katara narrowed her eyes dangerously.

Zuko gulped. It was best not to piss off a woman, but this was one of his biggest secrets. Although he considered Katara a friend now, he wasn't ready to tell her his biggest mistake.

"My middle name is Lee." Zuko grinned.

"That wasn't the question I meant!" Katara threw one of her pieces of shrimp at his face. She grinned in self-accomplishment when it hit his forehead with a splatter.

"I thought it was what you meant." Zuko lied as he attempted to mollify Katara. He swiftly wiped his head with his sleeve. "That was really gross…"

Katara stuck her tongue out at Zuko. "That's what you get."

"Look, Katara…" Zuko began, trying to settle this debate for once and for all. "I'm sorry about not telling you, but this isn't the time or the place for me to tell you. When the time is right, you'll find out."

"That's what they all say…" Katara mumbled, though she had never heard it before in her life. Or death, for that matter.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your playful banter, but I have decided something." A voice suddenly broke the silence that had just occurred.

"And what would that be, Devil?" Zuko looked angrily at the intruder.

"I have to cancel your date." Unexpectedly, no look of relief was found on either's face.

"What does that mean?" Zuko looked shocked. "Does that mean that we don't get our portal?!"

"No, I'll give it to you." The Devil sighed and looked at the floor. "I have a meeting with somebody."

"I see…" Katara glanced thankfully at the Devil. "How merciful! He's not the best at dating."

Zuko glared at her. "You were the one who was trying to blackmail me!"

"You were the one who found loopholes in everything I said, and then talked in difficult riddles!" Katara glared right back.

"Break it up! Flirting constantly is not fun for someone listening in." The Devil smirked at the looks he was getting.

"Katara and I will be going. Can you just give us the portal, please?" Zuko extended his hand to the Devil.

"Yeah, yeah." With a snap of his fingers, a servant appeared with the portal. "Here it is! Use it wisely."

"Don't talk to me about 'wise'." Zuko found it hard to stop glaring at the poor man.



"Actually, I believe that he could benefit from that." Katara pointed out, but was quickly shut up by Zuko dragging her out of the palace.

"Take care!" Called out the Devil, but Zuko just scoffed.

"He _is_ quite nice…" Katara thought to herself. Why was he being so kind? Was it really someone pretending to be the Devil? Or was there something else?

Katara grabbed the portal out of Zuko's hand to examine it.

"You know what's sad?" Zuko asked Katara, who shrugged. "I don't even remember why we needed this damn thing in the first place."

"Watch your mouth. You're in the presence of a lady." Katara scolded him. "I'm sure that you know what we're going to use this for."

After a moment of silence, Katara finally gave in. "Oh, geese! We're using it to talk to your mom."

"Oh." Zuko stopped talking and picked up his pace.

_He must miss her,_ thought Katara. _He gets really nervous and upset whenever I mention her._

"If I may add, it is mighty uncomfortable down here." Katara yelped in surprise. The portal was talking to her!

"Do all portals have a habit of talking to people?" She wondered out loud.

"What do you mean, 'do all portals'?" The portal quivered in Katara's hand. "I'm the same portal that you had last time."

Katara saw Zuko stop his large stride and clench his fists. After a moment of silence, a yell was heard from every corner of Hell.

"DAMN IT!"

Katara stifled a giggle behind her hand. He was so cute when he got angry!

"Gah!" Katara slapped her head quickly to shake off the thought. The only thing she received form it was a malicious laugh from the portal and a strange look from Zuko.

That was just a random observation, _right?_

It wasn't like she _liked_ Zuko, _Right?!_

XxxxXxxxX



End of chapter nineteen! Sorry about the shortness, but I guess I wanted to put this up before people forgot about it (if they haven't already…) I will add more Toph and Aang next chapter, and more Katara/Zuko.

Sorry if this chapter was pretty filler, but I promise the next one will be better.

Reviews are always welcome!!


	20. Chapter 20

SunSetSoItSeems: So, do you want to know what brought upon this great miracle of an update? Well, it was three things.

Digimon was one of them, and reader traffic was another (Just because it's cooler than anything _ever_)? I was doing all of my homework when all of a sudden I thought, 'remember that time I wrote the unplanned/pointless/pointless Tai/Sora story a couple years ago because I was wondering what the hell the writers were thinking while hooking up Matt and Sora?'

And then it came to me in a flash: 'Holy food pyramid. _Updates…'_

The third thing was Natashaaaaaaaaaa, or whatever her name is now, but I won't even begin to describe the horrid things that she used to make me update. Well, you can thank Digimon, my _oh so eloquent_ cousin Natasha, reader traffic, and bloody _Uncle Sam_ for this chapter or something. Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty

Toph dropped her suitcase immediately.

"What's wrong?" Aang worriedly looked at his friend. "What is going on?"

"Nothing." Toph started to fan herself. "It's just _so hot!_"

"Yeah! Haven't you heard all of the stories about this place?" Aang had. All of his friends from his school, especially Teo, said that Hawaii was hot as Hell. (They didn't know the half of it.)

"Nope. I haven't really been anywhere, though… This is my first real trip. Usually my parents just keep me inside." Toph sighed. "I know, how lame."

"No, it's not lame. I'm glad I could be the person that you got to spend your first trip with! Let's go get something to eat!" Aang grinned and started prancing toward near restaurants with Gyatso.

If Toph were any other girl, she would have blushed. She decided to follow Aang. Her first airplane ride had made her quite queasy, and she needed to walk it off.

"Oh my gosh!" Aang squealed and pointed at one of the buffet restaurants. "Look who it is!"

Toph giggled evilly. "I think fate has brought us here… for various reasons." Sure enough, a very familiar face was peering out of the window: the Boulder.

"Why do we keep seeing him?" Aang groaned. "He was kind of mean to us last time we saw him."

"Kind of?" Toph rolled her eyes. "Let's get something to eat."

"I agree." Gyatso, Toph and Aang walked into the nearest café they could find and sat down. As the three chomped on their food, a commotion brought their interest to the cash register.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE ANY MANGO SMOOTHIES?!?" The Boulder demanded.

"I-I'm not sure what to tell you, sir…" The cashier looked like he wanted to be anywhere else at that moment. "We don't carry smoothies here. Why don't you try the shop across the way?"

The Boulder looked furious. "Do you know who The Boulder is?"

The cashier shook his head reluctantly.

The Boulder scratched his head. "That makes sense." His voice then dropped and turned cold. "If you did, then you wouldn't be treating me this way."

The Boulder then seemed to see all of the attention he was receiving. "What are _you_ looking at, punks?"

The audience of customers resumed their eating, trying not to draw any attention to themselves.

"He needs to _seriously_ get some spa treatment or something." Toph commented. "It looks like he is constantly angry at something."

"And he keeps on showing up wherever we are!" Aang gestured vaguely at the man. "It's like he's _following_ us or something."

Although the statement was in jest, Toph had a vague feeling that it was true. After all, she had run away from home. Her parents had near unlimited resources for finding her. If they had hired this 'boulder' character to locate her and Aang, then…

"Toph?" Aang waved his hand in front of her face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think the sun is affecting me." Toph quickly lied.

"Is your sight still okay?" Aang scrutinized her face and Toph looked away quickly.

"Yeah, your face is pretty red. Maybe we need to get sunscreen." Toph mumbled something incoherent about the sun.

"Let's pay and get out of here." Gyatso commented. "That 'Boulder' guy has attracted a rather large crowd. I'm beginning to get a little claustrophobic…"

"I agree." Toph sighed. "Hey, I think I'm going to go look for a restroom really quickly. I'll be back soon!"

Before either Aang or Gyatso could respond, Toph was already a few yards away.

"Well then…"

-------------

Toph clenched her heart as she entered the restroom, panting heavily. Was that man, the boulder, really sent by her parents? If so, then where could she go? Would her parents really go to such drastic measures to find her?

Toph was beginning to feel nauseous. She leaned up against the wall for support. Right now she needed to get out of there. The restroom was co-ed, and if the Boulder was really sent by her parents and had seen where she had run off to…

Squinting was usually enough to see when her vision got blurry with illness, but now when her vision was impaired it was impossible to see a thing, squinting or not. Her hand finally stumbled upon the handle of the exit door. Just as she was about to open it, the job was made easier when the door opened by someone entering. The presence was unwelcome, though.

_Oh, god no…_

"You're the Boulder…" Toph muttered faintly. By now her vision was gone, and it looked like the contents of her stomach were not much far behind.

"…and you're not going anywhere, Tophie." The cold voice that answered her was just what she had expected.

Toph felt hands, as freezing as his voice, grab her before she drifted willingly into unconsciousness.

----------------

Zuko now held the maddening portal in one hand and a rather pointy looking rock in the other.

"Look, portal, if you don't let us talk to my mom, you don't want to even _know _what I'll do."

"Don't worry hot-head!" The portal steamed. Figuratively, of course. "I'm just here to finish the job I started. I have orders to obey what you say within reason. Just tell me what you want me to do for you."

"I just told you." Zuko rolled his eyes. "I need you to contact my mother. Her name is Ursa…"

"And she's related to you, right?" The portal asked sarcastically. "I'll do what I can."

In a whirl of pink smoke, the portal began to shake. Soon enough, the image of Zuko's mother began to fade onto the portal's clear face.

"Zuko!" She exclaimed, teary-eyed once again. "How are you contacting me?!"

"I have this portal…uh, never mind. It's not important. I have something to confess." Zuko looked distraught. "I know that when I was alive, I made it my goal for us to be as close as anyone. I never kept secrets from you then, and I'm not about to start now, especially when so much is at stake."

"Zuko, honey, I don't know what's going on, but no matter what I'll always love you," Ursa promised as she wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "_No matter what."_

"Okay. So not long after your death, I know that you suspected something was going on with Ozai, and it was. Not long after that… I died, as you may have figured out." Zuko breathed in deeply to calm himself. Katara placed a hand on his shoulder to steady him.

"Is there more?" Ursa breathed. She was taking this quite well.

"No," Zuko looked into the portal. "Well, I'm not sure if you figured it out, but… I went- I'm _in_ Hell."

As Ursa's fears were confirmed she looked stricken with grief. "How..? _Why?_"

"I…" As soon as Zuko began to speak the portal began to close. "Oh, _Hell _no!"

"Zuko!" Ursa's eyes widened. "What's going on?"

"The portal's closing up!" He shouted. "Mom! I promise you that I'll get into Heaven! Just you wait! As soon as I get out of here I'll find you and clear this all up!"

"I'm proud of you, son!" She whispered and smiled. "I always have been."

Even as the portal bid its goodbye and _poof-_ed away, Zuko was still smiling.

"You did well," Katara smiled at him. "That looked pretty hard to do. I'm proud of you, too."

She planted a kiss on his pink cheek and stood up, blushing. "Um, anyway, I think we have to find another portal and adjust our list."

Zuko stood up also. "Uh, yeah. Let's get on that."

The two sort-of-friends walked away from the portal's last pink mist. Their feet clomped on as they conversed about whatever their plan was going to be, but neither was really paying attention to what was going on.

_I hope he took that as a friendly gesture,_ Katara mused. _Please don't tell me that he thinks I like him now…_

_Oh my God,_ Zuko ran his fingers through his hair. _Does that mean she likes me now?_

-------------------

Uh, yeah. Late update. I hope the Avatar fandom is still alive.

Review, please! Don't be too upset or I'll cry.


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